Question

however you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of god, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction.

—jonathan edwards

what is the denotation of everlasting in this passage?
brief
eternal
homilic
tremendous

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Denotation and Connotation
The literal dictionary definition of a word.

Step 1: Understand denotation

Denotation refers to the literal, objective dictionary definition of a word, independent of any emotional associations or secondary meanings (which are called connotations).

Step 2: Analyze the word "everlasting"

The word "everlasting" is composed of "ever" (always) and "lasting" (continuing or remaining). Its literal dictionary definition is lasting forever, never-ending, or eternal.

Step 3: Evaluate the given options

• brief: means lasting for a short time (the opposite of everlasting).
• eternal: means lasting or existing forever; without end. This directly matches the literal definition of everlasting.
• horrific: describes something causing horror (an emotional association or connotation in this context, not the literal definition).
• tremendous: means very great in amount, scale, or intensity.

Therefore, the literal definition (denotation) of "everlasting" is eternal.

Answer:

eternal