heaven means the abode of God or the gods, when considered as a specific location; the abode of the blessed departed who reside in the presence of God or the gods. It carries an Arena rating of 1540, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, heaven ranks #208 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #338 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,977 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #4,995 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
heaven is pronounced /ˈhɛvən/.
Why “heaven” is a great word
The abode of God or the gods and the blessed departed, or, in a physical sense, the sky or firmament. From Old English *heofon*, *heofone* ("heaven, sky"), from Proto-West Germanic *hebn* ("heaven, sky"), of uncertain ultimate origin. Unlike "firmament," which denotes the sky as a physical, often arched, vault, lacking religious or divine connotations, or "hell," which names the abode of the damned and serves as the direct antithesis of divine reward, *heaven* is the word we reach for when the physical and transcendent collapse into one another. It is the particular blue that seems to recede forever, the dome under which the living tilt their faces in hope, and the invisible country where the dead are imagined to persist in recognition and light—the single syllable that holds both what we see when we look up and what we cannot see at all.
name
- The abode of God or the gods, when considered as a specific location; the abode of the blessed departed who reside in the presence of God or the gods
- Providence, the will of God or the gods, when considered as a personal entity or specific aspect of the divine; Fatee.g.“...but that the will
And high permission of all-ruling Heaven
Left him at large to his own dark designs,” — 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as
- Other extended senses of heaven as a specific place similar to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed departede.g.“The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.” — 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, I 254-255:
- The sky, particularly its distant aspect as the abode of the sun, moon, and starse.g.“Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues.” — 1581, Stefano Guazzo, translated by George Pettie, Ciuile Conuersation, I 26:
- The supreme God or Nature which controls the universe.e.g.“What Heaven has conferred is called the Nature...” — 1893, James Legge, transl., The Doctrine of the Mean:
- A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Evan
- A female given name from English of modern usage from the noun heaven.
noun
- The sky, specifically:; The distant sky in which the sun, moon, and stars appear or move; the firmament; the celestial spheres.e.g.“All that is vnder the heauen.” — 1535, Coverdale Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:1
- The sky, specifically:; The near sky in which weather, flying animals, etc. appear; (obsolete) the atmosphere; the climate.e.g.“Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues.” — 1581, Stefano Guazzo, translated by George Pettie, Ciuile Conuersation, I 26:
- The sky, specifically:; A model displaying the movement of the celestial bodies, an orrery.e.g.“Euery man cannot, with Archimedes, make a heauen of brasse.” — 1600, Thomas Nashe, Summers Last Will:
- The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:; The abode of God and of the angels and saints in His presence.
- The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:; The abode of the Abrahamic God; similar abodes of the gods in other religions and traditions, such as Mount Olympus.e.g.“With Ioue in heauen, or some where else.” — c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggar
- The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:; Providence, the will of God or the council of the gods; fate.e.g.“[…]he cannot thriue,
Vnlesse her prayers, whom heauen delights to heare
And loues to grant, repreeue him from the wrath
Of greatest Iustice.” — c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]
- The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically
- The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically:; Paradise, the afterlife of the souls who are not sent to a place of punishment or purification such as hell, purgatory, or limbo; the state or condition of being in the presence of God after death.e.g.“Teache the people to gett heuen with fastynge.” — 1544, Richard Tracy, A supplycacion to our moste soueraigne lorde Kynge henry the eyght Kynge of England of Fraunce and of Irelande, section C:
- The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically:; The afterlife of the blessed dead in other religions and traditions, such as the Pure Land or Elysium.e.g.“The belief in ascending to Heaven after death became widespread in the Han dynasty.” — 2011, Lillian Tseng, Picturing Heaven in Early China, section 3:
- Any paradise; any blissful place or experience.e.g.“Ile follow thee and make a heauen of hell.” — c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Fol
- A state of bliss; a peaceful ecstasy.e.g.“Husbandes are in heauen...whose wiues scold not.” — 1550, J. Heywood, Dialogue Prov. Eng. Tongue, II vii
- Similarly blissful afterlives, places, or states for particular people, animals, or objects.e.g.“Perhaps it has gone to the dog heaven, and is wagging somewhere in glory.” — 1867, J.W. De Forest, Miss Ravenel's Conversion, XXVI 368:
verb
- To transport to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed.e.g.“He heauens himselfe on earth, & for a litle pelfe cousens himselfe of blisse.” — 1614, Thomas Adams, The divells banket described in sixe sermons, II 81:
- To beatify, enchant, or please greatly.e.g.“They [Byron's Tales]...enraptured the public and heavened Murray.” — 1924 April 13, Observer, 12 4:
- To beautify, to make into a paradise.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- firmament 70% match — The vault of the heavens, where the clouds, sun, moon, and stars can be seen; the heavens, the sky. vs heaven →
- welkin 66% match — The sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament. vs heaven →
- heavenwards 63% match — Upwards, in the direction of the sky or heavens. vs heaven →
- supernal 61% match — Pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial. vs heaven →
- empyrean 60% 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 heaven →
- heavenful 60% match — skyful vs heaven →
- heavenhood 60% match — Heavenly quality or character; fitness for heaven; sanctification. vs heaven →
- heavenward 59% match — Toward heaven. vs heaven →