Definition of impermanencenext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impermanence Flowers are symbolic in Buddhism and reflect core teachings, such as impermanence, enlightenment and interconnectedness. Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026 My photographs—portraits, landscapes, still lives, and spaces both vast and claustrophobic—reveal cultural double standards and impermanence. Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026 Japan is an island nation where people feel the changing of the seasons and find beauty in wabi-sabi, the appreciation of impermanence and imperfection. Charlie Vargas, Daily News, 6 Feb. 2026 Embrace Impermanence And Gratitude A final Stoic lesson is the acceptance of impermanence. Andrew Rosen, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impermanence
Noun
  • An objective, multi faceted gaze into past tragedies and today’s transiences.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 Mar. 2026
  • This transience helps The Darling stay fresh, allowing guests to engage with works at the cutting-edge of the Danish art scene.
    Stephanie Gavan, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • How much of his life, his desperate desire for success, greatness, had been prompted by his shortness?
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
  • The team’s mean average height is 6-foot-4 due to the notable shortness of main rotation guards Tre Jones (6-foot-1) and Rob Dillingham (6-foot-2) and two-way guards Yuki Kawamura (5-foot-7) and Mac McClung (6-foot-2).
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • There’s a certain catch-as-catch-can ephemerality to this work, which tends to appear for quick two- or three-day engagements, sometimes in familiar places—Lincoln Center’s dizzying Festival of Firsts (in the David Rubenstein Atrium, through Oct. 23), for instance—and sometimes farther afield.
    Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Also in Japan there is a strong connection and respect towards nature, people in Japan appreciate the ephemerality of it.
    Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • But transiency in the back of the bullpen extends well beyond Woodward’s arrival.
    Dallas News, Dallas News, 27 July 2022
  • 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
  • To explain why a gag is funny is to crush its soufflé evanescence.
    Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Impermanence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impermanence. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.

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