ethereal

[ ih-theer-ee-uh l ]
/ ɪˈθɪər i əl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ethereal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

light, airy, or tenuous: an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.
extremely delicate or refined: ethereal beauty.
heavenly or celestial: gone to his ethereal home.
of or relating to the upper regions of space.
Chemistry. pertaining to, containing, or resembling ethyl ether.
Also ae·the·re·al (for defs 1–4).

Origin of ethereal

1505–15; < Latin aethere(us) (< Greek aithérios), equivalent to aether- ether + -eus adj. suffix + -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM ethereal

Words nearby ethereal

ethelwulf, ethene, ethenyl, ethephon, ether, ethereal, ethereal oil, etherealize, etherege, etherify, etherize

Words related to ethereal

celestial, intangible, exquisite, ghostly, airy, sublime, aerial, dainty, divine, empyrean, fairy, filmy, fine, gaseous, gossamer, impalpable, insubstantial, light, rarefied, refined

Example sentences from the Web for ethereal

British Dictionary definitions for ethereal

ethereal
/ (ɪˈθɪərɪəl) /

adjective

extremely delicate or refined; exquisite
almost as light as air; impalpable; airy
celestial or spiritual
of, containing, or dissolved in an ether, esp diethyl ether an ethereal solution
of or relating to the ether

Derived forms of ethereal

ethereality or etherealness, noun ethereally, adverb

Word Origin for ethereal

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

Medical definitions for ethereal

ethereal
[ ĭ-thîr′ē-əl ]

adj.

Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible.
Of, relating to, or containing ether.

Other words from ethereal

e•the′re•al′i•ty (-ăl′ĭ-tē) null n. e•the′re•al•ly adv.