as in transience
the state or quality of lasting only for a short time
the ancient Roman ruins are a telling reminder of the impermanence of even the grandest man-made constructions
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Recent Examples of impermanence
The director also doubles back and tells Townsend’s story, connecting the pointed impermanence of the artist’s work with the high-wire nature of the secret mall apartment.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
After Bush narrowly beat Gore, the impermanence of reinventing government’s signature achievement—a reduced workforce—became almost immediately clear.
—Jacob Bruggeman & Casey Eilbert / Made By History, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
As the ground becomes submerged and then reappears, water-logged, altered yet resilient, so too Munir rises from his inner darkness, still carrying the burden of exile but able to continue his existence, more accepting of his impermanence in light of a greater concept of home.
—Jay D. Weissberg, Deadline, 19 Feb. 2025
Here, Richard was rejoicing in his own reality — his ability to work on a film again, to be a director again —while recognizing its heartbreaking impermanence.
—Wash Westmoreland, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
After Bush narrowly beat Gore, the impermanence of reinventing government’s signature achievement—a reduced workforce—became almost immediately clear.
—Jacob Bruggeman & Casey Eilbert / Made By History, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
As the ground becomes submerged and then reappears, water-logged, altered yet resilient, so too Munir rises from his inner darkness, still carrying the burden of exile but able to continue his existence, more accepting of his impermanence in light of a greater concept of home.
—Jay D. Weissberg, Deadline, 19 Feb. 2025
Here, Richard was rejoicing in his own reality — his ability to work on a film again, to be a director again —while recognizing its heartbreaking impermanence.
—Wash Westmoreland, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impermanence
Noun
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Autumn Winter ‘25 is a meditation on transience aided by several sources from Proust to Bentley.—
Gemma A. Williams,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
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Also memorable is an earlier image while still in Hamburg, in Sarah’s apartment, where the passing trains through the window underline the overall feeling of transience.—
Jay D. Weissberg,
Deadline,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Through that love and care, and ephemerality and movement over permanence and rigidity.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
3 Mar. 2025
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There’s an ephemerality to the theatrical experience.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But transiency in the back of the bullpen extends well beyond Woodward’s arrival.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
27 July 2022
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The council will hold a workshop outlining strategies and efforts to remedy homelessness and transiency in the city.—
Laura Groch,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2021
Noun
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To explain why a gag is funny is to crush its soufflé evanescence.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
19 Mar. 2025
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The Stranger with its exploration of another facet of exile and belonging, this time set on a flood-prone German island that exists in a perpetual struggle between evanescence and permanence.—
Jay D. Weissberg,
Deadline,
19 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impermanence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impermanence. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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