Ethereal

Ethereal Ethereal Ethereal By Maeve Maddox A letter to the editor written by an environmentalist contains this use of the adjective ethereal: Contaminated air and water and ethereal space apparently are of no concern [to capitalists]. Here ethereal seems to refer to the physical area above the earth, what I might call â€Å"the atmosphere.† Referring to â€Å"ethereal space† in this context is not, strictly speaking, incorrect. The â€Å"ethereal realm† is the area above the clouds, but the adjective is closely associated with the supernatural. In general usage, it usually refers to heaven or to creatures or things that are otherworldly: Several belief systems include ethereal beings such as ghosts,  mythological  entities,  nature spirits,  angels,  thought-forms, [and] jinns. Note: Chemists use ethereal with the meaning, â€Å"characteristic of, or resembling diethyl ether.† In general usage, however, ethereal is rarely used in a literal sense to describe things in the physical universe. As an adjective to describe people or objects, ethereal means, â€Å"spiritual, non-physical, or abstract in nature; supernatural; incorporeal; nebulous.† It also means, â€Å"of a lightness, delicacy, or refinement that does not appear to belong to this world; otherworldly.† Here are some examples these uses of ethereal: Fog surrounds a frozen volcano in this ethereal photograph. The ethereal beauty and benefits of snow Flowing organza gives this A-line wedding dress an  ethereal look. Grams brother used to tease her when she complained. Oh youre so frail, so fragile, so ethereal, hed say. Audrey [Hepburn] was meek, gentle and ethereal, understated both in her life and in her work.   Here are some synonyms for ethereal in its various senses: heavenly celestial unearthly delicate exquisite dainty graceful fragile airy Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:36 Adjectives Describing LightWork of Art TitlesNominalized Verbs