These words apply to what cannot or will never die. Immortal is the word most likely to be used in theological discussion concerning the soul or the Deity: man’s immortal soul; the immortal gods of the Greek pantheon. The word is also used loosely for any human accomplishment that seems particularly durable: the immortal works of Voltaire. The word may also apply to the creator: the immortal Shakespeare; the immortal Jane Austen. Deathless and undying are both more lyrical in tone, but both can function in the same theological or hyperbolic ways as immortal . Deathless was popular in the Romantic Age to typify aspiration or achievement but may now sound rhetorical and high-flown; sometimes it refers pejoratively to such uses: a lady with three names who wrote deathless prose. Undying is less open to the charge of pretentiousness, partly because it is an accepted hyperbole for lasting sentiments as well as achievements: undying love; From that moment on he felt undying hatred for his oppressors.

While imperishable can also be used in ways identical to immortal , with a possible gain in vividness, the word can also indicate anything not subject to change or decay. When applied to something that is long lasting but is not, in any case, subject to physical death, imperishable may be more precise than the previous words: the imperishable Elgin marbles; the imperishable will of man to survive and excel; a universe in which only matter and energy can be said to be imperishable .