ephemeral

Noun · Adjective
US[ih-fem-er-uhl]/ɪˈfɛmɚəl/4 syllables
Synonyms: ephemeronpassingshort-livedtransienttransitoryfugacious

Open English WordNet

Adjective (1)

  1. lasting a very short time“the ephemeral joys of childhood”“a passing fancy”“youth's transient beauty”“love is transitory but it is eternal”“fugacious blossoms”Synonyms: passingshort-livedtransienttransitoryfugaciousOpposite lastingSimilar impermanent, temporary

Noun (1)

  1. anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged formSynonyms: ephemeronType of insect

Related words ephemera noun, ephemeralness noun, ephemerality noun

Word of the day · Oct 19About this word
notoriousadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

E·phem′er·al adjective

1. Beginning and ending in a day; existing only, or no longer than, a day; diurnal; as, an ephemeral flower.

2. Short-lived; existing or continuing for a short time only. “Ephemeral popularity.” Vicesimus Knox

Sentences not of ephemeral, but of eternal, efficacy.— Sir James Stephen

Ephemeral fly Zoology, one of a group of neuropterous insects, belonging to the genus Ephemera and many allied genera, which live in the adult or winged state only for a short time. The larvæ are aquatic; — called also day fly and May fly.

E·phem′er·al noun

Anything lasting but a day, or a brief time; an ephemeral plant, insect, etc.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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