transience

noun

tran·​sience ˈtran(t)-sh(ē-)ən(t)s  ˈtran-zē-ən(t)s 

ˈtran(t)-sē-;

ˈtran-zhən(t)s,

-jən(t)s

: the quality or state of being transient

Synonyms of transience

• shortness
• impermanence
• temporariness
• transiency
• ephemerality
• transitoriness
• evanescence
• fleetingness
• impermanency

Examples of transience in a Sentence

the transience of spring in northern climates means residents get to enjoy temperate weather only briefly before the heat and humidity of summer set in

Recent Examples on the Web

But the house is also a benignly indifferent witness to the happiness and the strife that occur within its walls—and to the heartbreaking transience of human lives. —Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

In a sport with so much transience, Holding, 36, not only stayed in San Diego but built a life here. —Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2025

Café Lisbeth hosts exhibitions on themes of transience and how humans have grappled with life’s passages throughout history. —Diana Hubbell, Saveur, 16 Oct. 2025

The April cherry trees, with their brief pink opulence, seem infused with the spirit of mono no aware—the Japanese idea of the transience of things, the gentle sadness yet also the beauty of impermanence. —Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1739, in the meaning defined above