empyrean

1 of 2

adjective

em·py·re·an ˌem-ˌpī-ˈrē-ən

-pə-;

em-ˈpir-ē-ən

-ˈpī-rē-

Synonyms of empyrean

: empyreal

empyrean

2 of 2

noun

: the highest heaven or heavenly sphere in ancient and medieval cosmology usually consisting of fire or light

: the true and ultimate heavenly paradise

: firmament, heavens

: an ideal place or state

Examples of empyrean in a Sentence

Adjective movie scenes set in heaven often suggest that harps are the favored instruments for empyrean music Noun ascended into the empyrean after a life filled with good deeds most ticket buyers have no trouble envisioning the empyrean that winning the lottery would inevitably bring about

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Adjective

In October, with three more of her novels now available in English and at least 20 other languages, the Swedish Academy awarded Han the Nobel Prize, elevating her to the empyrean realm reserved for writers of what is sometimes called world literature. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025

Larraín’s third subject, Maria Callas, despite being born to an ignoble family and having to face wartime poverty during the 1940s, was no stranger to the trappings of an empyrean existence, but in constantly having to live up to it, like Diana, her life met an untimely end. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Dec. 2024 The event, held high up in skyscraping event venue Glasshouse Chelsea, offered sweeping vista views of the Manhattan and New Jersey skylines meant to evoke the game’s new empyrean setting. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 26 Apr. 2023 At their best, Harjo’s poems inform each other, linking her different modes, facilitating her tendency to zoom from a personal experience to a more empyrean one. —Maya Phillips, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2019 Louis leaves Prior, drawing the first line in a pattern of abandonment that informs the entire play, and finally stretches all the way into the empyrean kingdom of an absent God. —Ben Brantley, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2018 Our badges looked different, we were afforded fewer privileges, and we were certainly kept in the dark about The Algorithm (pause for heavenly-choir noise effect) and other such empyrean secrets. —Lucas Peterson, GQ, 22 May 2017

Noun

Magical empyrean is mundane Earth. —Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022 They are concealed in the empyrean. —Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021 Betts is part of the Sox Sensation club with Fred Lynn and Nomar Garciaparra, all wildly popular and productive players who turned out to be supernovas streaking across the Boston baseball empyrean instead of franchise polestars. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022 O’Keeffe places the viewer aloft, level with the bone, high up in the empyrean. —Roxana Robinson, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021 Unfortunately, for those who see Mr. Donnelly’s empyrean status less as the result of an Immaculate Kawnception and more as another harbinger of Artistic Kawpocalypse, the show will do little to change previous conceptions about him or his art. —Brian P. Kelly, WSJ, 6 Mar. 2021 That could quickly propel a few black schools into the athletic empyrean, and change the place of HBCUs in American culture. —Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2019 Grahm reaches for the empyrean, and Locke brings him back to earth, a table full of wine bottles between them. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 May 2018

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of empyrean was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Browse Nearby Words

empyreal

empyrean

empyreum

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Empyrean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empyrean. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

empyrean

noun

em·py·re·an

ˌem-ˌpī-ˈrē-ən,

-pə-;

em-ˈpir-ē-ən,

-ˈpī-rē-ən

: the highest heaven or heavenly sphere

: sky sense 1, heavens

empyreal

-əl

adjective

empyrean adjective

empyrean

adjective

noun

Synonyms

Examples of empyrean in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

flippant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Popular in Wordplay

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Popular Features

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

Games & Quizzes

empyrean

adjective

noun

Synonyms

Examples of empyrean in a Sentence

Word History

Rhymes for empyrean

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Share

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

flippant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Popular in Wordplay

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Popular Features

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

Games & Quizzes