ethereal means 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.
ethereal is pronounced /ɪˈθɪə.ɹɪ.əl/.
Why “ethereal” is a great word
Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world; of or pertaining to the intangible, celestial, or immaterial realm. From Latin aetherius ("of or pertaining to the upper air, the sky, or heaven"), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος (aithérios, "of the upper air, ethereal"), from αἰθήρ (aithḗr, "upper air, ether"). Unlike "tangible," which is perceptible by touch and possesses physical substance, or "earthly," which pertains to the mundane, material world, ethereal describes something that seems to have slipped the bounds of gravity and gross matter entirely. It is the quality of light filtering through cathedral glass at vespers, the sound of a boy's unbroken voice in a distant choir, the particular blue of a dragonfly's wing held against the sun—a brief, unbearable suggestion that beauty might exist without weight, that the world we know is merely the shadow of something finer, already fading.
Etymology
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.
adj
- 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”
- 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”
- Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.“Vaſt chain of being ! which from God began, / Ethereal Eſſence, Spirit, Subſtance, Man, / Beaſt, Bird, Fiſh, Inſect ! [...]”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- etherealness 92% match — The state or quality of being ethereal. vs ethereal →
- ether 88% match — The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.; The medium breathed by human beings; the air. vs ethereal →
- otherworldly 88% match — Of, concerned with, or preoccupied with a world different from the tangible world, especially a fantasy, imaginary, or mystical world. vs ethereal →
- empyrean 85% match — The highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to be a region of pure light and fire or else composed of ether, and sometimes seen as the dwelling-place of God or other divine beings; the highest celestial sphere according to ancient and medieval astronomy. vs ethereal →
- celestial 85% match — Of, relating to, or located in the sky or outer space, where the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars are visible. vs ethereal →
- astral 84% match — Relating to or resembling the stars; starry. vs ethereal →
- intangible 84% match — Incapable of being perceived by the senses; incorporeal. vs ethereal →
- subtle 84% match — Senses relating to tangible things.; Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive. vs ethereal →