What does paradise mean?
Paradise is most often used for a place or condition imagined as perfect: a state of complete happiness, a destination without trouble, or a setting of exceptional beauty and comfort. The expression “a paradise for...” commonly identifies a place that is especially suited to a person or activity. In religious traditions, paradise may name heaven, the eternal realm of the blessed, although the word's broader figurative sense is more common in ordinary conversation. The noun is broadly used in formal and informal English, while the rare verb “paradise” means to make someone extremely happy. The word's history combines a physical origin with a spiritual one: it descends from Persian for a walled garden, passed through Greek and Latin, and eventually became associated with the ideal realm of bliss. Its flexibility makes “paradise” both a vivid description and a useful contrast with ordinary, less perfect circumstances.
An ideal place or state of complete happiness, fulfilment, beauty, or comfort; in religious contexts, heaven or the eternal realm of the blessed.
"The quiet island is a paradise for anyone who wants to escape the noise of the city."
The word is broadly standard in British and American English. Its religious sense is clear in contexts such as “the promise of paradise,” while figurative uses commonly describe an exceptionally pleasant place, condition, or opportunity.
To make someone extremely happy; archaically, to place someone in heaven.
"The thoughtful gift and warm congratulations paradised her."
The modern verb sense is chiefly British and informal. The theological sense is archaic and mainly literary.
The standard plural of the noun is “paradises,” pronounced with a final voiced /z/.
"The region contains several tropical paradises popular with long-term visitors."
The word began with a wall: its Persian ancestor meant a walled garden, a protected place of beauty that became a symbol of perfect bliss.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does paradise come from?
English paradise came through Old French paradis and Latin paradisus from Greek paradeisos, a word originally borrowed from Persian pairidaeza, meaning a walled garden or enclosed park. As the word passed into Latin and then English, its meaning expanded from an ideal garden to a place or state of perfect happiness and ultimately to the heavenly realm of the blessed. Related forms in several European languages continue to reflect this shared origin.
Related word forms
How paradise is actually used
The noun is standard in both formal and informal English, although it often carries an elevated or literary tone. The verb is uncommon and chiefly British and informal in the sense of making someone very happy; its theological use is archaic.