ethereal

Also ae·the·re·al

[ih-theer-ee-uhl]

adjective

1. light, airy, or tenuous.

   an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.

2. extremely delicate or refined.

   ethereal beauty.

3. heavenly or celestial.

   gone to his ethereal home.

4. of or relating to the upper regions of space.

5. Chemistry.,  pertaining to, containing, or resembling ether.

ethereal

/ ɪˈθɪərɪəl /

adjective

1. extremely delicate or refined; exquisite

2. almost as light as air; impalpable; airy

3. celestial or spiritual

4. of, containing, or dissolved in an ether, esp diethyl ether

   an ethereal solution

5. of or relating to the ether

Other Word Forms

• ethereality noun
• etherealness noun
• ethereally adverb
• ethereous adjective
• nonethereal adjective
• nonethereally adverb
• nonetherealness noun
• nonethereality noun
• unethereal adjective
• unethereally adverb
• unetherealness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethereal¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin aethere(us) (from Greek aithérios ), equivalent to aether- ether + -eus adjective suffix + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethereal¹

C16: from Latin aethereus, from Greek aitherios, from aithēr _ether

Example Sentences

One of the 1939 film’s production designers, Jack Martin Smith, said that his instructions were to make Oz “ethereal” and “subdued.”

From Los Angeles Times

It also wouldn’t be a complete Tei Shi album without the thoughtful layering of ethereal beats, most evident in the advance single “Best Be Leaving,” which echoes the essence of legendary dream-pop band Cocteau Twins.

From Los Angeles Times

And further along in the set, an absolutely ethereal “Love and Only Love,” from 1990’s “Ragged Glory,” reminded us “hate is everything you think it is.”

From Salon

From that experience came the album’s title, and the sequencing that had the album open with the ethereal, percolating track “Inhale,” and then close with the hopeful, romantic “Exhale.”

From Los Angeles Times

In her exquisite rendition of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” the tenderness between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, at once earthy and ethereal, deepened the expressive range of the love between them.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• airy 
• celestial 
• exquisite 
• ghostly 
• intangible 
• sublime