Paradise Definition & Meaning

American

British

Cultural

Idioms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms paradise 1 American [par-uh-dahys, -dahyz] / ˈpær əˌdaɪs, -ˌdaɪz /

noun

1. heaven, as the final abode of the righteous.

2. an intermediate place for the departed souls of the righteous awaiting resurrection.

3. (often initial capital letter) Eden.

4. a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness.

5. a state of supreme happiness; bliss.

6. Architecture.

   1. parvis.

   2. an enclosure beside a church, as an atrium or cloister.

7. Italian Paradiso. (initial capital letter, italics) the third and concluding part of Dante's Divine Comedy, depicting heaven, through which he is guided by Beatrice.

Paradise 2 American [par-uh-dahys, -dahyz] / ˈpær əˌdaɪs, -ˌdaɪz /

noun

1. a town in N California.

paradise British / ˈpærəˌdaɪs /

noun

1. heaven as the ultimate abode or state of the righteous

2. Islam the sensual garden of delights that the Koran promises the faithful after death

3. Also called: limbo. (according to some theologians) the intermediate abode or state of the just prior to the Resurrection of Jesus, as in Luke 23:43

4. the place or state of happiness enjoyed by Adam before the first sin; the Garden of Eden

5. any place or condition that fulfils all one's desires or aspirations

6. a park in which foreign animals are kept

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 paradise Cultural

1. A place or state of pure happiness. Christians (see also Christian) have identified paradise both with the Garden of Eden and with heaven.

paradise Idioms

1. see fool's paradise.

Etymology

Origin of paradise

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English paradīs, from Late Latin paradīsus, from Greek parádeisos “park, pleasure-grounds,” from Old Iranian; compare Avestan pairi-daēza “enclosure”; akin to Greek perí peri- ( def. ), teîkhos “mound, wall”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They took all the momentum, a batting paradise capitalised upon.

From BBC

It’s a reminder that even in a place marketed as “tennis paradise,” the desert ultimately sets the terms.

From Los Angeles Times

For more than two decades, Dubai has sold itself as an expat paradise, a global crossroads between East and West known for its low taxes, high salaries and luxury lifestyle.

From The Wall Street Journal

TELLURIDE, Colo.—On a snowy March evening last year, a local official stepped to the microphone to declare that this winter ski paradise was in crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal

One of the most disseminated was an aerial image -- made with artificial intelligence -- of Puerto Vallarta, the tourist paradise on the Pacific coast of the western state of Jalisco, that showed multiple buildings in flames.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bliss
• heaven
• utopia
• wonderland

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.