paradise
PAIR-uh-dyss/ˈpɛɹ.ə.daɪs/UKPA-ruh-dyss/ˈpæ.ɹə.daɪs/
Pluralparadises
Pluralparadises
Formsparadises, paradising, paradised
- 1A wonderful place, or a very happy experience, where everything seems perfect.
The little island was a paradise of palm trees and white sand.
After the spring rain, her backyard turned into a green paradise.
UsageSay a paradise of trees and flowers, or an island paradise.
- 2
- 3
- 4The garden where Adam and Eve first lived, in the stories of several religions.
In the story, Adam and Eve lived happily in paradise at first.
The painting shows Adam and Eve walking through paradise among lions and lambs.
UsagePeople often write it with a capital letter: Paradise, like Eden.
SimilarEden
Note
Less common meanings
- 5To put someone in paradise, or somewhere that feels just like it.
Hadst thou seene Her, in whose breast my heart was paradis’d, Kist, courted, and imbrac’d.
1632, Thomas Heywood, The Iron AgeHere, paradis'd means placed in paradise, perfectly happy.Note
- 6An open space inside a monastery or beside a church, like a courtyard.
Note
- 7A churchyard, or any place where dead people are buried.
Note
- 8To change a place so that it becomes a perfect, happy place.
1613, Thomas Heywood, “Epithalamion” in A Marriage Triumphe Solemnized in an Epithalamium, London: Edward Marchant, She enters with a sweet commanding grace, Her very presence paradic’d the place:
Here, paradic'd means turned the place into a paradise.Note
- 9
- 10A kind of sweet cake, often sold in pieces called paradise slices.
- 11The seats high up at the very top of a theater.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of paradise apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Through French, Latin and Greek, from an ancient Iranian word.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Paradise reached English through French, Latin and Greek. en.wikipedia.org
- Paradise ultimately derives from an ancient Iranian word. en.wiktionary.org