Ending Meaning
/ˈɛndɪŋ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA termination or conclusion.
nounThe last part of something.
Sentence Examples
The movie "Fight Club" has a surprise ending.
It was a great success, ending in a long run.
His stories usually have a happy ending.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The novel had a surprising ____ that left all the readers completely shocked.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ of the exciting movie was very surprising to everyone.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English endynge, endyng, endinge, from Old English endung, ġeendung (“ending”), equivalent to end + -ing. Cognate with Dutch ending (“ending”), German Endung (“ending”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Modern romance, like Greek tragedy, celebrates the mystery of dismemberment, which is life in time. The happy ending is justly scorned as a misrepresentation; for the world, as we know it, as we have seen it, yields but one ending: death, disintegration, dismemberment, and the crucifixion of our heart with the passing of the forms that we have loved."
— 1968, Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd edition, London: Fontana Press, published 1993, page 25:
"Using diachronic evidence from Swedish, I will show that inflectional endings may be maintained as “less cumulative” inflections, or even degrammaticalize into a derivational suffix or a clitic."
— 2002, Ilse Wischer, Gabriele Diewald, New Reflections on Grammaticalization, John Benjamins Publishing, →ISBN, page 45:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The novel had a surprising ____ that left all the readers completely shocked.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ of the exciting movie was very surprising to everyone.