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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
These works, made entirely in nature and left to be reclaimed by it, speak to a deep reverence for impermanence and the fleeting beauty of the world around us.
—
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Her installation of long, wide sheets of light-sensitive film, draped from the ceiling and eventually bearing traces of sunlight and heat, was one of the highlights of last year’s Whitney Biennial, part of her ongoing investigations into impermanence, inheritance, memory, and time.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 29 Apr. 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
Whether exploring gluttony and sin (Pirates of the Caribbean), the impermanence of life (Haunted Mansion) or perseverance in hard work (Snow White’s Enchanted Wish), Disneyland finds delight in the messiness of life.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Her installation of long, wide sheets of light-sensitive film, draped from the ceiling and eventually bearing traces of sunlight and heat, was one of the highlights of last year’s Whitney Biennial, part of her ongoing investigations into impermanence, inheritance, memory, and time.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 29 Apr. 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
Whether exploring gluttony and sin (Pirates of the Caribbean), the impermanence of life (Haunted Mansion) or perseverance in hard work (Snow White’s Enchanted Wish), Disneyland finds delight in the messiness of life.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impermanence
Noun
-
Fallen blossoms whisper on the damp earth, a fleeting poem of transience.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
-
While these two exhibits may feel distinct, for Suh, all of his work interrogates the boundaries between personal and public space, and the conditions that force transience or enable permanence.—
Megan Williams,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
Noun
-
The statistic is notoriously volatile, and averaging such a short period only exacerbates its ephemerality.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
-
Flowers are often emblems of ephemerality and mortality, as in the vanitas paintings so common in 17th-century Europe, where elaborate bouquets were often paired with skulls, fruit, and other reminders that blooming and decaying, life and death, are inseparable.—
Rebecca Solnit
October 19,
Literary Hub,
19 Oct. 2021
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
Cite this Entry
“Impermanence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impermanence. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share