Meaning

3 senses
  1. Pertaining to the presupposition of an invisible air-like element permeating all of space, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere.

    Near-synonyms: aereous, celestial

    ethereal space

    ätherisch

    эфи́рныйefírnyj

  2. Pertaining to the immaterial realm, as symbolically represented by, or (in earlier epochs) conflated with, such atmospheric and extra-atmospheric concepts.

    Near-synonyms: celestial, incorporeal, insubstantial, intangible, spiritual, uncorporeal, mystical, otherworldly, transcendental; see also Thesaurus:cosmic

  3. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.

    himmlisch, ätherisch

More definitions
  • characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
  • of or containing or dissolved in ether
  • of heaven or the spirit
  • characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air

Examples

5 sentences
  1. The voice sounded very weird, almost ethereal.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · Amastan · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. Jamin's perfectly symmetrical features give her an ethereal and timeless beauty.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · Amastan · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. Miss Morrison is a little ethereal slip of a girl, with timid eyes and blond hair.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · Hybrid · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. In the Hindu religion, an "avatar" is an incarnation, in tangible human or animal form, of an ethereal deity.

    CC0 · Tatoeba · Cangarejo · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  5. Life is a dream, an ethereal butterfly. The butterfly, a fleeting and fluttering creature, is like life itself—delicate and evanescent.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · carlosalberto · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

7 languages
Русский
By meaning 1
pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere:
consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy:

Origin

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, Heaven or the air or upper

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, Heaven or the air or upper air”), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος (aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air”). By surface analysis, ether + -ial.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more ethereal, most ethereal
Comparativemore ethereal Lesson
Superlativemost ethereal Lesson

regular

Synonyms

38 synonyms
Close in meaning

Antonyms

3 antonyms

Word family

12 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
ethereal — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto