terminal

terminal — adjective

1. A terminal disease or illness is one for which there is no known cure and that w

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

A terminal disease or illness is one for which there is no known cure and that will eventually cause a person's death.

Example

The doctor told Tariq that his mother's cancer was terminal and could not be treated.

collocation: terminal cancer

Sayaka's father was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition at the age of sixty-two.

collocation: terminal condition

Common collocations
  • terminal illness
  • terminal cancer
  • terminal disease
  • terminal condition
Synonyms
  • incurable

    stresses the lack of a cure rather than the inevitability of death

  • fatal

    implies the disease causes death, but not necessarily after a long period

Antonyms
  • curable

    able to be treated successfully

Grammar Patterns

terminal + [noun: disease / illness / cancer]

Usage Note

This sense is almost always used before a noun (attributive position), typically modifying words such as disease, illness, cancer, or condition.

Common Mistakes

He has a terminal disease and might survive with treatment.
He has a terminal disease and cannot be cured.
Terminal means there is no cure, not that the disease is simply serious.

2. A terminal patient or case is someone with a fatal condition who has entered the

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

A terminal patient or case is someone with a fatal condition who has entered the final phase of life and is expected to die soon.

Example

The hospital has a special ward where terminal patients receive comfort and pain relief.

collocation: terminal patient

Ravindra volunteers at a hospice that cares for terminal cases from all over the region.

collocation: terminal case

Common collocations
  • terminal patient
  • terminal case
  • terminal care
Synonyms
  • dying

    more general; does not specifically imply a diagnosed fatal disease

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

terminal + [noun: patient / case]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (FATAL ILLNESS): sense 1 describes the disease itself, while sense 2 describes the person who has the disease. Terminal patient is frequently used in healthcare and hospice contexts.

Common Mistakes

The cat has become terminal and will die soon.
The cat is a terminal patient and will die soon.
Terminal as an adjective for a patient describes the person's status, not the disease itself.

3. used informally to describe a situation, state, or quality that has reached the

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

used informally to describe a situation, state, or quality that has reached the most extreme or hopelessly severe level, especially in a negative way.

Example

Aaron described the three-hour lecture as a case of terminal boredom.

collocation: terminal boredom

The company's financial problems were terminal, and it closed down within a year.

collocation: terminal [financial problems]

Common collocations
  • terminal boredom
  • terminal decline
  • terminal stupidity
Synonyms
  • extreme

    neutral in register; does not carry the same sense of hopelessness

  • hopeless

    stresses the lack of possibility for improvement

Antonyms
  • mild

    slight or moderate in degree

Grammar Patterns

terminal + [abstract noun: boredom / stupidity / decline]

Usage Note

This sense is informal and often used for emphasis or exaggeration. It typically modifies abstract nouns describing negative qualities or situations and adds a tone of hopelessness.

4. relating to or forming the final part of a process, period, or series; situated

4.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to or forming the final part of a process, period, or series; situated at the furthest point or boundary of something.

Example

The train reached its terminal station just after midnight, and all the passengers got off.

collocation: terminal station

Students in the terminal year of the programme must complete a research project.

collocation: terminal year

Common collocations
  • terminal station
  • terminal point
  • terminal year
  • terminal stage
Synonyms
  • final

    more common in everyday language for the last item in a series

  • end

    used as a noun or in prepositional phrases; less formal

Antonyms
  • initial

    happening at the beginning

  • first

    coming before all others in time or order

Grammar Patterns

terminal + [noun: point / stage / station]

Usage Note

This is the most general sense of terminal and can apply to physical endpoints (stations, tips) as well as temporal endpoints (stages, years). In botany, a terminal bud is the one at the very tip of a stem.

Common Mistakes

This is the terminal stop of the bus ride, but we can still walk home.
This is the last stop of the bus ride.
Terminal as an adjective for stops is less common than using 'last' or 'final' in everyday conversation.

terminal — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A terminal is a large building where passengers board or alight from planes, trains, or buses, often with multiple gates or platforms. Station is more general and can refer to a train or bus stop of any size, from a small rural stop to a major city hub. Depot suggests a storage or maintenance facility for vehicles, though in some regions it is used interchangeably with 'bus station.' Concourse refers specifically to the large open hall inside a terminal or station, not the whole building. For example, a traveller might say, 'Meet me at the bus station,' but then add, 'I am waiting in the main concourse,' or 'I will be at the international terminal of the airport.'

terminal ↗station ↗depot ↗concourse

Common collocations

Nouns

  • airport terminal
  • bus terminal
  • computer terminal
  • battery terminal

Phrases

  • terminal illness
  • terminal cancer
  • terminal patient
  • terminal station
  • terminal year
  • positive terminal
  • negative terminal
  • Terminal 1 / 2 / 3

Prepositions

  • at the terminal
  • to the terminal
  • through the terminal
  • from the terminal

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word terminal comes from the Latin word terminus, which means 'boundary' or 'end point.' In ancient Rome, a terminus was a stone or marker that showed the boundary of a piece of land. Over time, the meaning expanded to include any end point — of a journey, a period of time, or a process. By the 1800s, terminal was being used in English for railway stations at the end of a line, and later for airport buildings and computer equipment connected to a central system.