Ethereal
What it means
Extremely delicate, beautiful, and seemingly beyond the material world.
Reach for it when praising a light, otherworldly quality in sound, appearance, or atmosphere
Ethereal harmonies floated through the candlelit chapel.
Words to choose between 7
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm | |
| literary |
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playful
light as air
Fits when informal imagery suits physical delicacy
Careful The simile is clichéd and says little about sound or atmosphere.
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everyday
Fits when fineness and fragility are central
Careful Delicate lacks ethereal's sense of transcendence.
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warm
Fits when lightness and openness matter
Careful Airy can suggest insubstantial thought or a breezy physical space.
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warm
Fits when reality feels softened or unreal
Careful Dreamlike can be confusing or ominous instead of beautiful.
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literary
Fits when heavenly origin or splendor is intended
Careful Celestial directly invokes the heavens and can sound religious.
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literary
Fits when almost weightless fineness is visible
Careful Gossamer is tactile or visual and applies poorly to moral character.
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literary
otherworldly
Fits when strangeness and beauty seem beyond ordinary life
Careful Otherworldly can be eerie or alien rather than delicate.
Opposites 4
- earthy
- heavy
- coarse
- solid
Common phrases 3
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ethereal beauty
The jellyfish has an ethereal beauty under blue light.
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ethereal voice
Her ethereal voice rose above the quiet strings.
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ethereal quality
Thin winter sun gave the photographs an ethereal quality.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, public domain Updated