adjectiveadverb

göttlich

divine

Definition & meaning

The German adjective göttlich can be translated as "divine," "godly," or "celestial." It is used in several contexts:

  1. Relating to a deity: It describes something that originates from, belongs to, or is characteristic of a god (e.g., divine grace or a divine being).
  2. Excellence or perfection: In a figurative sense, it is used to describe something of extraordinarily high quality, magnificent, or sublime (e.g., "a divine meal" or "a heavenly voice").
  3. Colloquial use: It is frequently used in everyday language to express strong enthusiasm, meaning something is wonderful, fantastic, or delightful.

Grammar & Word origin

  • Grammar: It is an adjective. It can be used attributively (e.g., ein göttlicher Tag – a divine day) or predicatively (e.g., Das Essen ist göttlich – The food is divine).
  • Word origin: It is derived from the noun Gott (god) combined with the suffix -lich, which is used to form adjectives indicating a similarity or relationship to the root noun.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

  • himmlisch (heavenly)
  • wunderbar (wonderful)
  • herrlich (glorious/magnificent)
  • überirdisch (supernatural/ethereal)
  • exzellent (excellent)

Antonyms:

  • menschlich (human)
  • irdisch (earthly/terrestrial)
  • schrecklich (terrible/horrible)
  • profan (profane/secular)

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Examples

Ihr Lächeln ist einfach göttlich.adjective

Her smile is simply divine.

Das Essen gestern Abend war wirklich göttlich und unvergesslich.adjective

The food last night was truly divine and unforgettable.

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