Afterlifes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Realms or states believed to exist following physical death where consciousness or identity persists ; Subsequent stages or experiences considered to continue beyond mortal existence ; Notions of continued existence in some form beyond death, often involving spiritual or metaphysical dimensions
2. Concepts or places thought to follow the end of life on earth where a person's soul or essence endures ; Future conditions or realms assumed to succeed physical demise, often shaped by religious or philosophical beliefs ; Posthumous realms or experiences where an individual's being is believed to persist beyond bodily death
3. Hypothetical or religiously defined domains existing after bodily death where identity or consciousness is preserved ; Ideas or scenarios imagining a continued existence beyond death, often involving spiritual continuation ; Beliefs in subsequent states of being that succeed earthly life and involve ongoing personal or spiritual experience

Etymology: The plural "afterlifes" is a rare form of "afterlife," a compound built from "after" and "life," and the plural form is the one a writer reaches for when speaking of several distinct hereafters, such as the different heavens and underworlds of different faiths. The base word traces back to Old English "æfter," meaning "behind" or "following," which descends from a very old Germanic root, and "līf," meaning "life," which shares its roots with the Old English "lībban," "to live." Put together, the compound literally names what comes after life. Because "afterlife" is a transparent compound rather than a borrowed term, its meaning has stayed close to its parts: it denotes whatever existence follows death. The plural simply counts those existences, so an author comparing the afterlifes of Egyptian, Norse and Christian belief is treating each tradition's hereafter as a separate realm.

Synonyms: hereafter, beyond, next world, other world, eternity

Antonyms: life, earthly life, mortality