infinity
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the state of having no end or limit in time, space, or amount.
the quality of being infinite; an unlimited extent of time, space, or quantity.
Simple“The stars seemed to stretch out into infinity in the dark night sky.”
In context“Philosophers have long debated whether the universe is truly a state of infinity or if it possesses a boundary that remains beyond human observation.”
SynonymsAntonymsfinitenesslimitation - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a number or value that is larger than any other number you can think of.
a mathematical concept representing a quantity larger than any finite number, often treated as a limit.
Simple“In math class, we learned that some sequences of numbers go toward infinity.”
In context“The function approaches infinity as the value of x nears zero from the positive side.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'to' in the phrase 'to infinity'.
Antonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
the mathematical symbol (∞) that looks like a sideways number eight.
the typographic or mathematical character ∞ used to represent an infinite quantity.
Simple“The professor wrote the symbol for infinity on the chalkboard.”
In context“The lemniscate, commonly known as the infinity symbol, was first introduced in a mathematical context during the seventeenth century.”
Synonymslemniscate - 04 C2 Proficiency
a distance that is so far away that light rays from it arrive in straight, parallel lines.
a distance that is effectively infinite relative to the focal length of an optical system.
Simple“When the camera lens is set to infinity, distant mountains will be in focus.”
In context“For the purposes of this experiment, any light source placed more than ten metres away can be considered to be at infinity.”
UsageUsually appears in the phrase 'at infinity'.
“Yayoi Kusama reached toward the concept of infinity through polka dots.”
From Middle English infinite, from Old French infinité, from Latin īnfīnitās (“unlimitedness”), from negative prefix in- (“not”), + fīnis (“end”), + noun of state suffix -tās.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.