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
Suffused with the heady impermanence of first love, King’s sixth novel is bittersweet, astutely observed and thoroughly engaging.
—
Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
Balle, who studied philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, may be flirting with the work of Derek Parfit, who found solace in the self’s impermanence.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
This sense of musical object impermanence is tied directly to the kind of preemptive doubt that Young expressed, and that Roan was effectively threatened with.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2025
The impermanence of our digital footprint, especially in this age of AI scraping and incomplete catalog streaming, is distorting our story.
—Rodney Carmichael, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
Balle, who studied philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, may be flirting with the work of Derek Parfit, who found solace in the self’s impermanence.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
This sense of musical object impermanence is tied directly to the kind of preemptive doubt that Young expressed, and that Roan was effectively threatened with.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2025
The impermanence of our digital footprint, especially in this age of AI scraping and incomplete catalog streaming, is distorting our story.
—Rodney Carmichael, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impermanence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impermanence
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Luzzatto said the relative shortness of that term is scaring away capital.—
Matthew Geiger,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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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 10 Jan. 2026.
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