finality

/faɪˈnæləti/ (bre, ipa) · /faɪˈnæləti/ (ame, ipa) · /fī-ˈna-lə-tē fə-/ (ame, mw)

finality — noun

1. the feeling or quality that something is over and can no longer be undone, reope

1.名詞C1
釋義

the feeling or quality that something is over and can no longer be undone, reopened, or altered

例句

Eli closed the front door with a finality that frightened his younger brother.

collocation: with finality (manner of closing/saying/acting)

There was a strange finality in the way Gabriela packed away her late mother's photos.

pattern: a finality in the way [someone] [does action]

同義詞
  • conclusiveness

    more formal, often used about arguments, evidence, or proof rather than feelings

  • irrevocability

    stresses that a decision or act cannot legally or practically be taken back

  • closure

    focuses on the emotional sense of an issue or relationship being resolved, not just being over

反義詞
  • openness

    suggests a matter is still up for discussion or change

  • uncertainty

    the situation is unresolved and may still go in different directions

文法句型

with finality

a sense of finality

the finality of [noun]

用法筆記

Often paired with the preposition 'with' to describe how someone speaks, closes a door, or signs a document — the manner shows that no further discussion is possible. Subject is typically an abstract life event (death, divorce, retirement, a verdict) rather than a person.

常見錯誤

❌The finality of the meeting was at five o'clock.
✅The meeting ended at five o'clock.
💡'finality' is not the time something ends; it is the quality of being over and impossible to change.

2. a particular thing, event, or ruling that no one can ever take back or reverse,

2.名詞C2
釋義

a particular thing, event, or ruling that no one can ever take back or reverse, such as a death, an eviction, or a court verdict

例句

For Adisa, his grandmother's burial was the first real finality he had ever faced.

pattern: a finality + (that) clause / for [person]

The verdict was a finality that the family had been dreading for months.

collocation: a finality + relative clause

同義詞
  • certainty

    a fact that no one can argue with, but without the sense of being the last step

  • inevitability

    something that must happen, focusing on the build-up rather than the moment it lands

反義詞
  • possibility

    an outcome that may or may not happen and could still change

文法句型

a finality

one of the finalities of [noun]

用法筆記

Countable in this sense (a finality / finalities), unlike sense 1. Subject or object is usually a momentous, irreversible event — a death, a verdict, an eviction, a permanent loss — rather than an everyday ending.

常見錯誤

❌The end of the film was a nice finality.
✅The end of the film was a satisfying ending.
💡countable 'finality' is used for grave, life-altering events, not for the ending of a story or meal.