afterlife
Existence beyond death
The afterlife is existence after death—whatever form that takes in various belief systems.
Heaven, hell, reincarnation, and ghostly persistence are all versions of an afterlife.
The word also describes a later phase of something's existence: The building had an afterlife as a community center.
She didn't believe in an afterlife.
Ideal, blissful place
- eternityBoundless temporal existence
- salvationDeliverance from harm
- ascensionMovement to higher position
- pearly gatesOrnate doors with opalescent decoration
angels · cherubim · seraphim · halo · clouds · throne · glory · celestial
Innermost animating essence
- ghostApparition of the dead
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- shadeDarkness from blocked light
phantom · ancestor spirits · haunting · visitation · medium · séance · channeling · communication
Spiritual or physical regeneration
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
- samsaraCycle of rebirth
- transmigrationSoul passing into another body
- past livesPrevious cycles of existence
soul journey · cycle · dharma · moksha · liberation · nirvana · incarnation · return
Exemption from death
- continuationAct of proceeding further
- beyondFarther than something
- other sideContrary position or location
- next worldExistence after death
faith · doctrine · theology · eschatology · resurrection · near-death · tunnel · light
Eternal punishment decree
- perditionEternal spiritual ruin
- infernoDevastating, uncontrollable blaze
- underworldRealm of the departed
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
torment · fire · brimstone · demons · Satan · Lucifer · Hades · Tartarus
Settlement of accounts
- weighingMeasuring mass or heft
- OsirisEgyptian afterlife deity
- AnubisEgyptian mortuary deity
- scalesPlates or weighing devices
deeds · sins · virtues · final judgment · accountability · fate · verdict · St. Peter
Hall for fallen warriors
- Elysian FieldsGreek paradise for souls
- SummerlandAfterlife in some beliefs
- SheolBiblical abode of spirits
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
offerings · funeral rites · burial customs · Day of Dead · veneration
paradise
Ideal, blissful place
- eternityBoundless temporal existence
- salvationDeliverance from harm
- ascensionMovement to higher position
pearly gates · angels · cherubim · seraphim · halo · clouds · throne · glory · celestial · divine
soul
Innermost animating essence
- ghostApparition of the dead
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
shade · phantom · ancestor spirits · haunting · visitation · medium · séance · channeling · communication · ethereal
rebirth
Spiritual or physical regeneration
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
- samsaraCycle of rebirth
- transmigrationSoul passing into another body
past lives · soul journey · cycle · dharma · moksha · liberation · nirvana · incarnation · return · Buddhist
immortality
Exemption from death
- continuationAct of proceeding further
- beyondFarther than something
- other sideContrary position or location
next world · faith · doctrine · theology · eschatology · resurrection · near-death · tunnel · light · testimony
damnation
Eternal punishment decree
- perditionEternal spiritual ruin
- infernoDevastating, uncontrollable blaze
- underworldRealm of the departed
punishment · torment · fire · brimstone · demons · Satan · Lucifer · Hades · Tartarus · abyss
reckoning
Settlement of accounts
scales · deeds · sins · virtues · final judgment · accountability · fate · verdict · St. Peter · tribunal
Valhalla
Hall for fallen warriors
- Elysian FieldsGreek paradise for souls
- SummerlandAfterlife in some beliefs
- SheolBiblical abode of spirits
ancestors · offerings · funeral rites · burial customs · Day of Dead · veneration
- Egyptpyramids, Cairo, Sphinx, Nile, pharaoh
- after-aftermath, aftertaste, afterward, afterglow, afterimage
- immortalityimmortality, immortals, deathlessness, deathless, agelessness
- Mythic RealmsAsgard, Avalon, Elysium, Hades, Valhalla
- big questionsexistence of God, free will, good versus evil
- metaphysical conceptssoul, spirit, free will, determinism, reincarnation
afterlifeoblivion
Complete erasure from memory
nothingness · nonexistence · annihilation · void · extinction