ethereal
Light as mist
Underlying the adjective ethereal is the noun ether, which provides an important clue to its meaning.
Ether was once thought to be the substance or element that filled the heavens, and ethereal conveys intangibility or lacking material substance.
It may also have a connotation of delicacy or exquisiteness, especially in writing about the arts.
People use ethereal today when they can’t pinpoint specifics: The ethereal beauty of her voice filled the concert hall.
Ethereal is usually complimentary.
Light and well-ventilated
- weightlessHaving no heft
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- wispyThin and insubstantial
- floatyTending to drift upward
diaphanous · gossamer · gauzy · filmy · sheer · tenuous · feathery · translucent
Resembling a specter
- phantasmalLike an apparition
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- wraithlikeResembling a ghost
- incorporealNot made of matter
intangible · immaterial · apparitional · shadowy · disembodied · invisible · elusive · vanishing
Supernatural or eerie
- celestialOf the sky above
- heavenlyDivinely pleasant or blissful
- transcendentExceeding usual boundaries
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
divine · angelic · elysian · empyrean · seraphic · supernal · numinous · unworldly
Under magical influence
- magicalPossessing supernatural power
- otherworldlySeemingly not earthly
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- arcaneUnderstood by few
esoteric · mysterious · visionary · oracular · prophetic · shamanic · alchemical · occult
Vague and pleasantly distracted
- romanticConducive to love
- impressionisticConveying general mood, not specifics
- soft-focusIntentionally blurred imagery
- hazyUnclear, indistinct
misty · atmospheric · ambient · shimmering · iridescent · pearlescent · opalescent · glowing
airy
Light and well-ventilated
- weightlessHaving no heft
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- wispyThin and insubstantial
floaty · diaphanous · gossamer · gauzy · filmy · sheer · tenuous · feathery · translucent · vaporous
ghostly
Resembling a specter
- phantasmalLike an apparition
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- wraithlikeResembling a ghost
incorporeal · intangible · immaterial · apparitional · shadowy · disembodied · invisible · elusive · vanishing · haunting
unearthly
Supernatural or eerie
- celestialOf the sky above
- heavenlyDivinely pleasant or blissful
- transcendentExceeding usual boundaries
sublime · divine · angelic · elysian · empyrean · seraphic · supernal · numinous · unworldly · beatific
enchanted
Under magical influence
- magicalPossessing supernatural power
- otherworldlySeemingly not earthly
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
arcane · esoteric · mysterious · visionary · oracular · prophetic · shamanic · alchemical · occult · mystical
dreamy
Vague and pleasantly distracted
- romanticConducive to love
- impressionisticConveying general mood, not specifics
- soft-focusIntentionally blurred imagery
hazy · misty · atmospheric · ambient · shimmering · iridescent · pearlescent · opalescent · glowing · lustrous
- sublimesublimity, grandeur, vastness, awe, majesty
- Pictorialismplatinum print, soft focus, soft-focus, painterly, impressionistic
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- aestheticsaesthetics, aesthetic, beauty, beautiful, ugly
- art adjectivesbold, bright, colorful, dark, delicate
- dance qualitiesfluidity, graceful, musicality, rhythmic, grace
etherealheavy
Of great mass
solid · substantial · tangible · leaden · massive
etherealearthly
Of this world
worldly · terrestrial · mundane · material · earthbound
- ethereal glowSoft, otherworldly luminescence
- ethereal beautyUnearthly, delicate attractiveness
- ethereal lightLuminosity seeming not earthly
- ethereal soundDelicate, otherworldly music
- ethereal beingIncorporeal supernatural entity
- ethereal planeNonphysical realm of existence