finitude

English

Etymology

From Latin fin(is) +‎ -itude or directly from Renaissance Latin finitūdō (“signifying a noun of state”), from fīnis (“end, limit”) +‎ -tūdō.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɪnətud/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɪnɪtjuːd/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

Noun

finitude (countable and uncountable, plural finitudes)

1. (formal, chiefly philosophy) The state or characteristic of being finite; limitedness.

   Synonyms: finiteness, finity, limitedness; see also Thesaurus:finity

   Antonyms: infiniteness, infinitude, infinity, limitlessness, unlimitedness; see also Thesaurus:infinity

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 15:

     Matter expresses the finitude of time-space; in this world of limitation a new way of knowing becomes possible, and this way is language.

   • 2025 January 30, Zachary Przystup, “Is 2 cars too many? Lamenting life in the fast lane.”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     A one-car life is one of finitude and limitations.

   • 2026 July 25, Carmody Grey, “AI’s quest for morality”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2:

     It is our finitude and our vulnerability that keeps us open to one another and to the transcendent.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:finitude.

Usage notes

Finitude is relatively formal and used in philosophy, while finiteness is used in mathematics; however, infinitude is used in mathematics more than infiniteness. Less formal is to reword to use limited: “(the fact that) life is limited” rather than “the finitude of life”. Finitude may also be used outside of formal contexts for humorous effect.

References

• “finitude”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fi.ni.tyd/

Noun

finitude f (plural finitudes)

1. finitude, impermanence, transience

Further reading

• “finitude”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012