Meaning & use
lifelong friendship
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A friendship that continues for the whole of someone's life.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a lifelong friendship' or 'lifelong friendships'.
Patterns
- a lifelong friendship
- form a lifelong friendship
- a lifelong friendship with someone
They met in kindergarten and formed a lifelong friendship.
Her lifelong friendship with Maria has survived moves, marriages, and careers.
The two scientists developed a lifelong friendship based on mutual respect.
Word forms
| plural | lifelong friendships |
|---|
Common combinations
- form a lifelong friendship
- They formed a lifelong friendship during their first year at university.
- a lifelong friendship with someone
- He has a lifelong friendship with his childhood neighbor.
- cement a lifelong friendship
- Their shared ordeal cemented a lifelong friendship.
Synonyms and how they differ
- enduring friendship
- Enduring friendship emphasizes that the friendship lasts a long time despite difficulties, while lifelong friendship specifically means it lasts the whole life.
- close friendship
- Close friendship focuses on emotional intimacy, not necessarily on duration; lifelong friendship highlights duration.
Opposites
Word family
- lifelong adjective
- Lasting for the whole of a person's life.
- friendship noun
- The relationship between friends.
Commonly confused: lifelong friendship or long friendship?
lifelong friendship vs long friendship
'Long friendship' means a friendship that has lasted a long time but may not last a lifetime; 'lifelong friendship' means it lasts the whole life.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'lifelong friendship' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly shows a friendship lasting for life. The other options contradict the meaning of 'lifelong' by suggesting it ended or was temporary.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lifelong friendship”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.