ephemeral

American  

[ih-fem-er-uhl] / ɪˈfɛm ər əl /

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.

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noun

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

ephemeral British  

/ ɪˈfɛmərəl /

adjective

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

   ephemeral pleasure

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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

Other Word Forms

• ephemerality noun
• ephemerally adverb
• ephemeralness noun
• nonephemeral adjective
• nonephemerally adverb
• unephemeral adjective
• unephemerally adverb

Etymology

Origin of ephemeral

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

Example Sentences

This is not a documentary feature stuffed with detailed historical context, talking heads contemplating Jacobs’ impact, and stretches of runtime devoted to quietly pondering what legacy looks like in an ephemeral business.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

Absorbing this well-chosen album is a treat, and a chance to appreciate the delicate mortality that thrives in a place simultaneously enormous, eternal and ephemeral.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Many are ephemeral; fleeting leaf sculptures that blow away into the forest or giant snowballs placed in the city of London which melted to disclose sticks and stones.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

As the already ephemeral freeze-thaw cycle is compressed or diminished, it might be possible, in Canada, to extend the country’s sugar-maple forests by planting trees north of the existing ones.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

I have wandered for so long without any sense of purpose, and now this ephemeral purpose has been given to me—it feels like it has been given to me.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Related Words

• fleeting
• short-lived
• transitory