ephemeral

[ih-fem-er-uhl]

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adjective

lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory: the ephemeral joys of childhood.
lasting but one day: an ephemeral flower.

noun

anything short-lived, as certain insects.

Origin of ephemeral

1570–80; < Greek ephḗmer(os) short-lived, lasting but a day (ep- ep- + hēmér(a) day + -os adj. suffix) + -al¹

Related formse·phem·er·al·ly, adverbe·phem·er·al·ness, nounnon·e·phem·er·al, adjectivenon·e·phem·er·al·ly, adverbun·e·phem·er·al, adjectiveun·e·phem·er·al·ly, adverb

Synonyms for ephemeral

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1. fleeting, evanescent, transient, momentary, brief.

Antonyms for ephemeral

1. permanent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ephemeral

short-lived, fleeting, transitory, short, temporary, brief, fugitive, transient, volatile, episodic, evanescent, flitting, impermanent, fugacious

Examples from the Web for ephemeral

Contemporary Examples of ephemeral

Following an all too predictable cycle of the hyperactive 21st century, focus on the explosion was ephemeral.
Deepwater Horizon: Life Drowning in Oil
Samuel Fragoso
November 2, 2014
Whatever his approval ratings, the Russian leader knows how ephemeral they can be.
Putin’s Patriotism is Phony, His Desperation is Real
Andrew Nagorski
April 4, 2014
Most news articles were just as ephemeral, but it has become harder to pretend.
Richard Ben Cramer Dies at 62
Justin Green
January 8, 2013
It may all be ephemeral, because most of politics is ephemeral, a cynical means to the end of getting elected.
Buzz Bissinger: Why I’m Voting for Mitt Romney
Buzz Bissinger
October 8, 2012
But as stimulus goes, the I-stimulus strikes me as a pretty narcissistic and ephemeral one.
The Annoying iPhone 5 Frenzy: Don’t Believe the Economic Stimulus Hype
Daniel Gross
September 24, 2012

Historical Examples of ephemeral

And what are the haughtiest of us, but the ephemeral aristocrats of a summer's day?
The Toll Gatherer's Day (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Life is precarious as the fall of a die at best an ephemeral business.
The Tavern Knight
Rafael Sabatini
Must not the fame that is instantaneous prove hollow and ephemeral?
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 105, July 1866
Various
Some readers may smile at the notion of taking seriously these ephemeral productions.
The Legacy of Greece
Various
And so of children's play-books as well as their work-books; these are as ephemeral as their other toys.
The Book-Hunter
John Hill Burton

British Dictionary definitions for ephemeral

ephemeral

adjective

lasting for only a short time; transitory; short-livedephemeral pleasure

noun

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

Derived Formsephemerally, adverbephemerality or ephemeralness, noun

Word Origin for ephemeral

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ephemeral

adj.

1560s; see ephemera + -al (1). Related: Ephemerality. Originally of diseases and lifespans; extended sense of "transitory" is from 1630s.