impermanent

adjective

(ˌ)im-ˈpər-mə-nənt How to pronounce impermanent (audio)
Definition of impermanentnext
1
as in temporary
intended to last, continue, or serve for a limited time built an impermanent structure to serve for the archaeologists' living quarters during the dig

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flash
lasting only for a short time a summer romance that was an impermanent fancy, quickly forgotten

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 impermanent Several—Forti and Smith among them—were performance artists, whose impermanent work is notoriously difficult to sell. — News Desk, Artforum, 27 Apr. 2026 Time is impermanent, but timelessness can be built, swish by swish. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2026 But public art is impermanent by design; posters may last months or disappear within hours. — Yamlek Mojica, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026 And executive orders are famously impermanent. — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for impermanent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impermanent
  1. temporary
  2. flash
  3. interim
  4. brief
  5. transient
  6. transitory
  7. ephemeral
  8. passing
Adjective
  • Printing a hinge or an HDRM takes approximately 15 minutes, followed by another 30 minutes to program its temporary shape.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The job that brought me here was temporary, at first, a lecturer position meant to last a year, two at most.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of temporary
Adjective
  • Heavy rain on Sunday in parts of southern Texas is prompting flash-flood threats that are expected to stretch into Monday and could produce rainfall totals of 7 to 9 inches.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • San Antonio, Texas, was under a flash-flood warning through Thursday evening, and the city urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
    — Fabiola Sanchez, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of flash
Adjective
  • Since interim head coach Ryan Richter took over during the World Cup break, Philadelphia earned 43 of a possible 57 points while outscoring opponents 48-22 during that span.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Amari Thomas ran for two touchdowns, his second an 11-yarder to put Florida State ahead late in the fourth quarter, and the Seminoles beat Boston College 31-24 on Saturday to make interim coach Rick Stockstill a winner in his first game.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of interim
Adjective
  • Despite a brief earnings dip, the stock shrugged off the biggest tech selloff since Covid last week, a bear market in semiconductors, and renewed anxiety around interest-rate hikes, to extend its 2026 rally to 30% and a new all-time high.
    — Oliver Renick, CNBC, 11 Nov. 2026
  • These days, brief exchanges with Travis are as close as Marshall comes to interacting with other Followers.
    — Noelle Crombie, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of brief
Adjective
  • The transient air pressure of a passing thunderstorm, or the excessive production of cow patties, spoiled the chips.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Back in February, Wyandotte County commissioners decided that the local government would direct a portion of its future sales, use and transient guest tax revenues to pay for the Chiefs development.
    — Sofi Zeman October 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of transient
Adjective
  • Russ said those rates will accelerate in the fourth quarter, and are expected to bring a roughly $130 million transitory headwind to the shipping company.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The motivation to hit the road, present the music and see the faces of the fans is addictive, but after days of long bus rides and transitory environs, there’s a buzz that comes from getting back to the family.
    — Tom Roland, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of transitory
Adjective
  • Autumn’s ephemeral generosity is a warning, not an unconditional gift.
    — Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Every microservice and Kubernetes workload must be right-sized upfront—CPU limits, memory requests, persistent and ephemeral storage, and GPU allocation.
    — Karan Alang, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of ephemeral
Adjective
  • Tampa Bay will almost certainly need more from its passing game Sunday night in Chicago.
    — Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The frantic father stopped a passing cyclist and asked him to call 911.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of passing

Browse Nearby Words

impermanency
impermanent
impermeable
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Cite this Entry

“Impermanent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impermanent. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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