ephemeral

[ ih-fem-er-uhl ]

adjective

1. lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory:

   The poem celebrates the ephemeral joys of childhood.

   Synonyms: brief, momentary, transient, evanescent, fleeting

   Antonyms: permanent

2. (of flowers or insects) lasting only a few days or less:

   Lily of the valley is an ephemeral flower.

3. being of temporary value or passing interest:

   She had a scrapbook full of ephemeral news clippings about forgotten events.

4. Computers.
   1. being or relating to messages, images, or other data that are written to temporary or virtual storage only, and are therefore liable to change or be lost unless copied to permanent storage immediately or within a very short time:

      Snapchat is an ephemeral messaging app.

   2. being or relating to a temporary storage medium, especially a virtual one:

      In case of a hardware failure this data will be lost, as it is only stored locally on an ephemeral drive.

noun

1. anything short-lived, such as certain flowers and insects.

ephemeral

/ ɪˈfɛmərəl /

adjective

1. lasting for only a short time; transitory; short-lived

   ephemeral pleasure

noun

1. a short-lived organism, such as the mayfly
2. a plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year, usually less than six months

Derived Forms

• eˈphemerally, adverb
• eˌphemerˈality, noun

Other Words From

• e·phem·er·al·ly adverb
• e·phem·er·al·ness noun
• non·e·phem·er·al adjective
• non·e·phem·er·al·ly adverb
• un·e·phem·er·al adjective
• un·e·phem·er·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ephemeral¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Greek ephḗmer(os) “short-lived, lasting a day” (from ep- ep- + hēmér(a) “day” + -os, adjective suffix) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ephemeral¹

C16: from Greek ephēmeros lasting only a day, from hēmera day

Example Sentences

Following an all too predictable cycle of the hyperactive 21st century, focus on the explosion was ephemeral.

From The Daily Beast

Whatever his approval ratings, the Russian leader knows how ephemeral they can be.

From The Daily Beast

Most news articles were just as ephemeral, but it has become harder to pretend.

From The Daily Beast

It may all be ephemeral, because most of politics is ephemeral, a cynical means to the end of getting elected.

From The Daily Beast

But as stimulus goes, the I-stimulus strikes me as a pretty narcissistic and ephemeral one.

From The Daily Beast

Do not suppose that I mean to recommend poor music, or feeble, ephemeral compositions.

From Project Gutenberg

The Widow Lawton ornamented her kitchen floor in a manner as ephemeral, though less expensive.

From Project Gutenberg

Another ephemeral paper, L'Italia del Popolo, was launched on its short career.

From Project Gutenberg

They were, no doubt, chiefly of a pantomimic and ephemeral kind.

From Project Gutenberg

But like all dunghill products, the life of these was ephemeral.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fleeting
• short-lived
• transitory