eternity
part of speech
noun (eternity — uncountable; an eternity, eternities)
meaning for a pupil
1) Eternity is time that goes on for ever, with no end. tree →
2) (church) Christians and many other believers use eternity for the life after death that they believe never ends, with God. tree →
3) (informal, hyperbole) An eternity is a very long time, or a time that feels very long: «I waited an eternity for the bus.» tree →
sense in the lessons
In religious education it means endless time and life after death («for all eternity»). In everyday talk and lessons on hyperbole it is a favourite exaggeration for a long, boring wait. In maths, eternity is like infinity for time: it never finishes. Phrases: for all eternity, an eternity, what seemed like an eternity, eternity ring.
examples
- The queue for the rollercoaster took an eternity. tree →
- Five minutes before the bell can feel like an eternity. tree →
- Christians believe that God is from eternity to eternity. tree →
- The ancient Egyptians wanted the pharaoh's body to last for eternity. tree →
- After what seemed like an eternity, the lost dog came home. tree →
- The prince promised to love her for all eternity. tree →
- Waiting for my test results felt like an eternity. tree →
- After all, six hundred years is an eternity!” tree →
note
Mostly uncountable, but with «an» in the hyperbole sense: an eternity. Adjective: eternal (eternal life); adverb: eternally. Said «ih-TER-nih-tee». «An eternity» in everyday speech is an exaggeration: it might mean ten minutes, so it does not give a real number of hours.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «eternity» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.