ephemeral

1 of 2

adjective

ephem·er·al i-ˈfem-rəl

-ˈfēm-;

-ˈfe-mə-,

-ˈfē-

Synonyms of ephemeral next

: lasting a very short time

ephemeral pleasures

: lasting one day only

an ephemeral fever

ephemerally

i-ˈfem-rə-lē

-ˈfēm-;

-ˈfe-mə-

-ˈfē-

adverb

ephemeral

2 of 2

noun

: something that lasts for a very short time : something ephemeral

specifically : a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a few days

Did you know?

The Mayfly Helps to Illustrate Ephemeral

In its aquatic immature stages, the mayfly (order Ephemeroptera) has all the time in the world—or not quite: among the approximately 2,500 species of mayflies, some have as much as two years, but a year is more common. But in its adult phase, the typical mayfly hatches, takes wing for the first time, mates, and dies within the span of a few short hours. This briefest of heydays makes the insect a potent symbol of life's ephemeral nature. When ephemeral (from the Greek word ephēmeros, meaning "lasting a day") first appeared in print in English in the late 16th century, it was a scientific term applied to short-term fevers, and later, to organisms (such as insects and flowers) with very short life spans. Soon after that, it acquired an extended sense referring to anything fleeting and short-lived, as in "ephemeral pleasures."

Choose the Right Synonym for ephemeral

transient, transitory, ephemeral, momentary, fugitive, fleeting, evanescent mean lasting or staying only a short time.

transient applies to what is actually short in its duration or stay.

a hotel catering primarily to transient guests

transitory applies to what is by its nature or essence bound to change, pass, or come to an end.

fame in the movies is transitory

ephemeral implies striking brevity of life or duration.

many slang words are ephemeral

momentary suggests coming and going quickly and therefore being merely a brief interruption of a more enduring state.

my feelings of guilt were only momentary

fugitive and fleeting imply passing so quickly as to make apprehending difficult.

let a fugitive smile flit across his face

fleeting moments of joy

evanescent suggests a quick vanishing and an airy or fragile quality.

the story has an evanescent touch of whimsy that is lost in translation

Example Sentences

Adjective … 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

the autumnal blaze of colors is always to be treasured, all the more so because it is so ephemeral

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

A long time ago Blooming flowers are notoriously ephemeral, but a nearly 40 million-year-old specimen remains trapped in amber and frozen in time. —

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Jan. 2023 Because these ephemeral objects serve as time machines, opening an emotional portal to the past. —

Darlene Lacey, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Apr. 2023 After passing a gate and crossing Jacks Canyon Road, the trail hops an ephemeral creek which may be difficult to cross during heavy spring runoff seasons. —

Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2023 As with other ephemeral things in nature — think fall colors — the season moves with latitudes. —

Chelsey Lewis, Journal Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2023 While purely ephemeral code with no state to manage is popular and easy to operate, data is where the value of applications lives. —

Justin Warren, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2023 Then, as more ephemeral flowers fade, these 7 spring-blooming plants will keep the show going until summer arrives. —

Jeanne Ambrose, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2023 Sure, the flowers get a little human help in order to bloom so prolifically, but the kaleidoscope of red poppies, yellow tulips, blue cornflowers, and other flowering beauties is an ephemeral delight. —

Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2023 Seen from the ground, their ephemeral parabolas look like calligraphic brushstrokes. —

Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2023

Noun

The power comes from the realization that these conversations can happen only once: they are improvised and ephemeral, and can never happen again in the same way. —

Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023 But her work represents something more ephemeral than the big names: the subversive bygone era of New York’s 1990s creative scene, before fashion was hyper-commercialized. —

Tara Gonzalez, Harper's BAZAAR, 31 Mar. 2023 Motivation is ephemeral; drive is incessant. —

Ryan Mcgrath, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023 Vivek Chidambaram, the senior managing director for strategy at Accenture, the consulting firm, also expects the decline to be ephemeral. —

Clifford Krauss, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023 There’s no more delightful affirmation of the perpetual New York dialogue between the substantial and the ephemeral, the skyscraper and the snow. —

Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023 To me, real fun — ephemeral, subjective — often entails leaning into a lot of un-fun things: earnestness, character development and even restraint in service of a broader purpose. —

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2023 Yet nothing is more ephemeral. —

Lucy Alexander, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2023 Nobody thinks about it anymore, so everything is more ephemeral. —

IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ephemeral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.