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# eternity

«eternity» in Mova's school dictionary: **time that goes on for ever, with no end** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#m1)

2) (church) Christians and many other believers use eternity for the life after death that they believe never ends, with God. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#m2)

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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#m3)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x1)
- Five minutes before the bell can feel like an eternity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x2)
- Christians believe that God is from eternity to eternity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x3)
- The ancient Egyptians wanted the pharaoh's body to last for eternity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x4)
- After what seemed like an eternity, the lost dog came home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x5)
- The prince promised to love her for all eternity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x6)
- Waiting for my test results felt like an eternity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x7)
- After all, six hundred years is an eternity!” [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x8)

### 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.