eternity

/ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti/

//ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"eternity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“eternity” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,602. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,602
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Existence without end, infinite time.

Corpus desk

Index EN-eternity · eternity · English

eternity · rank #9,602 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,602
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH epidemic

Nearest frequency peer: epidemic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “eternity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “eternity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for eternity
PropertyValue
Headwordeternity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#9,602
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “eternity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).eternitylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “epidemic” (#9,601), “Eugene” (#9,603), “evolve” (#9,604). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “eternity” is #9,602. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around eternity (IPA /ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,602 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for eternity, with forms such as "eetrnity", "etenrity", and "eterinty". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes. The correct English form is eternity, spelled E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Existence without end, infinite time.
  2. 2
    Existence outside of time.
  3. 3
    A period of time which extends infinitely far into the future.
  4. 4
    The remainder of time that elapses after death.
  5. 5
    A comparatively long time.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how eternity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Eternity has generally been considered as divisible into two parts; which have been termed, eternity a parte ante, and eternity a parte post: that is, in plain English, that eternity which is past, and that eternity which is to come.
  2. This theory regards creation as an act of God in eternity past.

Etymology

From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes.

Synonyms

atemporalityeternal nowextratemporalitytimelessnessall timeperpetuityevermoreforeverforeverhoodafterlifelife after deathan ageagescenturiesdonkey's yearshoursa lifetimeyearsyonkseonalwaysnesseternalityeternityforeverness

Antonyms

sempiternitymoment

This word in other languages

eternidad(Español)éternité(Français)Ewigkeit(Deutsch)eternidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eetrnity
  • etenrity
  • eterinty
  • eternitty
  • eternityy
  • eterniyt
  • eternnity
  • eterntiy
  • eterrnity
  • etrenity
  • etternity
  • teernity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of eternity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eetrnity2etenrity2eterinty2eternitty1eternityy1eterniyt2eternnity1eterntiy2
Edit distance from "eternity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "eternity"?
"eternity" is spelled E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti/.
What does "eternity" mean?
As a noun, "eternity" means: Existence without end, infinite time.
What are common misspellings of "eternity"?
Common misspellings include "eetrnity", "etenrity", "eterinty", "eternitty", "eternityy". The correct spelling is "eternity".
How do you pronounce "eternity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eternity" is /ɪˈtɜː.nə.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "eternity"?
From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "eternity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

epidemic#9,601fletcher#9,609decisive#9,593Davidson#9,592

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

communism12 variantscolorful12 variantsmessaging12 variantsadmitting12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list