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Breaking Down Evanescent
The fragile, airy quality of evanescent things reflects the etymology of the word evanescent itself. It’s from a form of the Latin verb evanescere, which means "to evaporate" or "to vanish.” (Evanescere is also the ultimate source of vanish.) Given the similarity in spelling between the two words, you might expect evaporate to be from this family as well, but its source is another steamy Latin root, evaporare.
Synonyms
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.
transitory applies to what is by its nature or essence bound to change, pass, or come to an end.
ephemeral implies striking brevity of life or duration.
momentary suggests coming and going quickly and therefore being merely a brief interruption of a more enduring state.
evanescent suggests a quick vanishing and an airy or fragile quality.
Examples of evanescent in a Sentence
Word History
Latin evanescent-, evanescens, present participle of evanescere
1717, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Evanescent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evanescent. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
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