immortal
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.living forever and never dying.
adj.exempt from death or mortality; living eternally.
Simple“In many ancient stories, the gods are immortal and live on a high mountain.”
In context“The myth describes a hero who sought an immortal existence, only to realise that eternal life without eternal youth was a curse.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.so famous or important that people will never forget them.
adj.deserving of or possessing everlasting fame; enduring through time.
Simple“Shakespeare's immortal plays are still performed all over the world today.”
In context“The composer achieved immortal fame with his final symphony, which remains a cornerstone of the classical repertoire centuries later.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a being, like a god, who can never die.
n.a being, typically a deity or supernatural entity, who is not subject to death.
Simple“The Greeks believed that the immortals watched over the lives of humans.”
In context“The epic poem contrasts the petty squabbles of the immortals with the tragic, brief lives of the soldiers on the battlefield.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
n.a person who is so famous in their field that they will always be remembered.
n.a person of such eminence that their fame is considered enduring or permanent.
Simple“The young player was delighted to be mentioned alongside the immortals of the game.”
In context“By winning his fifth consecutive title, he secured his place among the sporting immortals.”
“There was a definite marriage of what’s mortal and immortal, because of the interweaving of their own language right next to Shakespeare.”
From Latin immortālis, from prefix im- (“not”) (from in-) + mortālis (“mortal”) (from mors (“death”), combining form mort- + adjectival suffix -alis), equivalent to im- + mortal. Displaced native undeadly, from Old English undēadlīċ. The term referring to the Persian soldiers was a Calque of Ancient Greek ἀθάνατος (athánatos). One suggestion claimed that "Immortals" were named by the ancient Greeks because wounded soldiers were quickly replaced, while another claimed that it was because Greek informants confused Old Persian anauša- (“immortal, without death”) with Old Persian anūšiya- (“companion, royal bodyguard”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.