eternity

B1 Topic:Time

Also spelled Eter-nity

US /ɪˈtɝnɪti/ UK /ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti/ See IPA manual

noun Freq #5115

Meanings

1

noun
Time that has no end; endless time.

They believed their souls would live for all eternity.
2

noun
A period that feels very long.

It's been an eternity since we last saw each other.
3

noun
Existence after death, especially in religious belief.

Many religions teach that the soul spends eternity in another world.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · time that has no end;... infinity forever

2 noun · a period that feels very long. an age

3 noun · existence after death,... afterlife

More agesalwaysnesscenturies eoneternalityextratemporalityforevernesshours perpetuity timelessness yearsyonks

Opposites

momentsempiternity

Word family

Forms eternities

Derived forms coeternityeternitariannoneternitypreeternitysupereternity

Related forms endlessness eternal eternalize eternize forever

Etymology

From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes.

*h₂ey- Proto-Indo-European eternyte Middle English eternité Old French aeternitās Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time Religion & Belief

# eternity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ɪˈtɝnɪti
**IPA (UK):** ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti
**Frequency rank:** 5115

## Meanings
1. Time that has no end; endless time.
2. A period that feels very long.
3. Existence after death, especially in religious belief.

## Examples
- They believed their souls would live for all eternity.
- It's been an eternity since we last saw each other.
- Many religions teach that the soul spends eternity in another world.

## Synonyms
- ages
- alwaysness
- centuries
- eon
- eternality
- extratemporality
- foreverness
- hours
- perpetuity
- timelessness
- years
- yonks

## Antonyms
- moment
- sempiternity

## Derived Forms
- coeternity
- eternitarian
- noneternity
- preeternity
- supereternity

## Related Forms
- endlessness
- eternal
- eternalize
- eternize
- forever

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂ey-
- Root: eternyte
- Root: eternité
- Root: aeternitās

## Etymology
From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes.

## AI Etymology
Eternity comes from Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes. In current use, the main senses are “Time that has no end; endless time” and “A period that feels very long”. Its deeper ancestry includes Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-.

## Topics
- Time
- Religion & Belief

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eternity

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