Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Extremely light or delicate.
- adjective Of the celestial spheres; heavenly.
- adjective Spiritual or otherworldly.
- adjective Chemistry Of or relating to ether.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Formed of or containing or filled with ether (sense 1); hence, relating or belonging to the heavens or heaven; heavenly; celestial; spiritual: as, ethereal space; ethereal regions.
- Figuratively, having the characteristics of ether or air; light, intangible, etc.
- Existing in the air; resembling air; looking blue like the sky; aërial: as, “ethereal mountains,”
- In physics, of, pertaining to, or having the constitution of ether (sense 2).
- In chem., of or pertaining to an ether or to ether: as, “ethereal liquids,”
- Same as
volatile oil (which see, undervolatile ). Synonyms Airy, aerial, empyreal.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial
- adjective Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
- adjective (Chem.) Pertaining to, derived from, or resembling, ether.
- adjective (Chem.) See Essential oil, under
Essential . - adjective (Chem.) a heavy, yellow, oily liquid consisting essentially of etherin, etherol, and ethyl sulphate. It is the oily residuum left after etherification. Called also
heavy oil of wine (distinguished fromoil of wine , or œnanthic ether). - adjective (Chem.) a salt of some organic radical as a base; an ester.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer
air , or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond theatmosphere ;celestial ;otherworldly ; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions. - adjective Consisting of
ether ; hence, exceedinglylight orairy ;tenuous ;spiritlike ; characterized by extremedelicacy , as form, manner, thought, etc. - adjective Delicate, light and airy.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective of heaven or the spirit
- adjective of or containing or dissolved in ether
- adjective characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
- adjective characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This world, of course, includes not just the material world but also the ethereal, as evidenced by the root of the word ethereal: ether.
Meditation as Medicine M.D. Dharma Singh Khalsa 2001
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This world, of course, includes not just the material world but also the ethereal, as evidenced by the root of the word ethereal: ether.
Meditation as Medicine M.D. Dharma Singh Khalsa 2001
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In the light of the tragic event, he could understand everything -- her quietness, that calm certitude as if all vexing questions of living had been smoothed out and were gone, and that certain ethereal sweetness about all that she had said and done that had been almost maternal.
Chapter XII 2010
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When that happened, all the gods (who, it turns out, really did exist in ethereal forms, science be damned) became earthbound as humans.
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A wasting beauty in women was called ethereal, while robust health was considered vulgar; in men, tuberculosis was thought to denote creative genius, prompted by the suffering of such artists as Poe, Goethe, Balzac, Stevenson, and Keats.
A Furnace Afloat JOE JACKSON 2003
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In the light of the tragic event, he could understand everything -- her quietness, that calm certitude as if all vexing questions of living had been smoothed out and were gone, and that certain ethereal sweetness about all that she had said and done that had been almost maternal.
Chapter XII 1910
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Their motion through the bushes often disturbed clouds of yellow butterflies, which had been hanging on the fringes of the tall purple asters, and which rose toying with each other, and fluttering in ethereal dances against the blue sky, looking like whirls and eddies of air-flowers.
Oldtown Folks 1869
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Given that Sanaa specialise in a form of architecture that might be called ethereal? buildings of great transparency, such as the new Rolex Learning Centre in Lausanne, that touch the ground as lightly as possible? this idea of doing more with less, and delightfully so, makes sense.
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Many philosophers have supposed the universe to be filled with an extremely subtile fluid, which they have termed ethereal; and this hypothesis has been sanctioned by the illustrious authority of Newton.
Popular Lectures on Zoonomia Or The Laws of Animal Life, in Health and Disease Thomas Garnett 1784
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Life goes on, only you will function in a finer body known as the ethereal body.
brandelion commented on the word ethereal
ethereal is my least favorite word because in these modern times, it has been used in abundance to describe the mundane, to the point of diluting the meaning and character of the word. especially when used to appraise amateur artwork. everything is "ethereal" or "transcendent." barf. when ethereal is no longer used redundantly to describe the abysmal and plain, i'll gladly place it back upon it's rightful pedestal as a praiseworthy word.
December 18, 2006
pifaninjat commented on the word ethereal
I like it because of the way it looks. It's a pretty looking word, you have to admit.
And brandelion is right, actually. It does get a little disgusting when over-used.
Unless you live in a town where people pronounce "America" as "Amurica". I've never heard anyone in my town use that word.
September 28, 2007
uselessness commented on the word ethereal
For years I thought it was pronounced "ehh thur EEL," and I loved it plenty. Then I learned how it's really pronounced, and loved it lots.
September 28, 2007