ephemeral
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1ephem·er·al
adjective \i-ˈfem-rəl, -ˈfēm-; -ˈfe-mə-, -ˈfē-\Definition of EPHEMERAL
1
: lasting one day only <an ephemeral fever>
2
: lasting a very short time <ephemeral pleasures>
— ephem·er·al·ly \-rə-lē\ adverb
See Examples of EPHEMERAL
- <the autumnal blaze of colors is always to be treasured, all the more so because it is so ephemeral>
- … several rather inflated pages of material about an ephemeral love affair Fitzgerald allegedly had with an English woman named Bijou … —Joyce Carol Oates, Times Literary Supplement, 5 Jan. 1996
- As a consequence North Africa was easily reconquered by the Byzantine emperor in the 530s, and the Vandals' influence on North African development was ephemeral and negligible. —Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, 1993
- This accounts for the peculiar sense most observers have that the ephemeral, sensationalist, polymorphous, magpie popular culture of the United States is at bottom remarkably conservative … —Louis Menand, Harper's, March 1993
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Origin of EPHEMERAL
Greek ephēmeros lasting a day, daily, from epi- + hēmera day
First Known Use: 1576
Related to EPHEMERAL
- Synonyms
- brief, deciduous, momentary, evanescent, flash, fleeting, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, passing, short-lived, temporary, transient, transitory
- Antonyms
- ceaseless, dateless, deathless, endless, enduring, eternal, everlasting, immortal, lasting, long-lived, permanent, perpetual, timeless, undying, unending
See Synonym Discussion at transient
2ephem·er·al
noun \i-ˈfem-rəl, -ˈfēm-; -ˈfe-mə-, -ˈfē-\Definition of EPHEMERAL
: something that lasts for a very short time : something ephemeral; specifically : a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a few days
Origin of EPHEMERAL
(see 1ephemeral)
First Known Use: 1807
Other Botany Terms
ephem·er·al
adjective \i-ˈfem(-ə)-rəl, -ˈfēm-\ (Medical Dictionary)Medical Definition of EPHEMERAL
: lasting a very short time
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