deathless

Deathless is an adjective describing beings or qualities that resist or defy death, typically conveying immortality, invulnerability, or agelessness. The term is common in myth, religion, and fantasy literature, and it may refer to gods, spirits, heroes, or magical beings believed to live beyond ordinary lifespans. Etymologically, it combines death with the suffix -less, meaning without death.

In mythology and folklore, deathless beings appear across cultures as deities, demigods, or spirits. Immortality is often depicted as intrinsic to the being or granted by supernatural means, such as divine favor, magical substances, or ritual knowledge. Some traditions present deathlessness alongside ongoing renewal, while others imply that even the deathless can be threatened or undone by extraordinary forces or losses of essential life-essence.

In modern literature and media, deathless is used as a thematic motif and, at times, as a title. Notably, Deathless is a 2011 fantasy novel by Catherynne M. Valente, which draws on the Russian fairy tale of Koschei the Deathless. The novel reimagines that folklore within a broader historical and fantastical setting. The term also appears in discussions of immortality and related tropes in other works, reflecting its enduring appeal in fantasy and folklore narratives.