eternal
part of speech
adjective (eternal); adverb eternally
meaning for a pupil
1) Lasting for ever, without beginning or end. tree →
2) (church) Christians believe God is eternal and that believers will have eternal life with God after death. tree →
3) (informal) Seeming to go on for ever, often annoyingly: «his eternal complaining». tree →
4) Always true or always there: «eternal truths», «an eternal optimist». tree →
sense in the lessons
In religion lessons eternal describes God and heaven: «eternal life», «the Eternal City» (Rome). In everyday talk it means «never-ending» or is used with humour. Phrases: «eternal life», «eternal love», «eternal flame», «eternal rest», «an eternal optimist».
examples
- Christians believe God is eternal. tree →
- Jesus promised eternal life to those who believe. tree →
- The car journey felt eternal! tree →
- Rome is called the Eternal City. tree →
- An eternal flame burns at the war memorial. tree →
- My dad is an eternal optimist; he always thinks it'll be sunny. tree →
- They swore eternal friendship. tree →
- "Your blood grows thick from your eternal dreaming. tree →
note
Adjective, not used with «more». Noun: eternity. Similar: everlasting, endless. «Eternal rest» (euphemism) is said about people who have died.
In the corpora
- Christians believe eternal life starts now and continues after death because Jesus rose again.
- Christians believe in resurrection and eternal life with God.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «eternal» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.