eventual

Compared meaning: happening at the end of a process (adjective).

比较义项：经过某个过程或系列之后达到的“最终的”（形容词）。

• eventual 本词

  Emphasizes the outcome that arrives after a process or delay; always placed before a noun and never used to say a decision cannot be changed, nor to suggest supreme greatness.

  强调经过一段过程或时间后才产生的结果；只能放在名词前使用，不表示“决定不可更改”，也不带有“最伟大、最极致”的含义。

  The long investigation revealed the eventual cause of the accident.

  长时间的调查最终揭示了这起事故的最终原因。

• final

  Emphasizes that no further change, appeal, or discussion is possible; often used after a linking verb, as when a decision or verdict is described as beyond dispute.

  强调不能再有任何改变、上诉或讨论的余地；常用在系动词之后，用来说明某个决定或裁决已不容更改。

  The judge's decision was final and could not be appealed.

  法官的裁决是最终的，不能上诉。

• ultimate

  Emphasizes being the last one in a series or the greatest/most extreme of its kind; typically placed before a noun to describe a supreme goal, sacrifice, or authority, with an emphatic tone.

  强调是系列中的最后一个，或是同类中最伟大、最极致的；通常放在名词前，用来描述至高的目标、牺牲或权威，语气带有强调色彩。

  Getting into medical school was his ultimate goal in life.

  考上医学院是他人生的终极目标。

Eventual, final, and ultimate all mean final, but the emphasis differs. Eventual stresses a result reached after a process, always before a noun. Final stresses that nothing can change further. Ultimate stresses being the greatest or last. Final's other sense is not compared here.

这三个词在词典里都可译作“最终的”，但语气和侧重点不同：eventual 强调经过一段过程或时间后才出现的结果，final 强调不能再改变、不容争辩，ultimate 强调是同类中最后或最极致的一个。这里不比较 final 表示“系列中最后一场（比赛）”的其他义项。