evanescent

American  

[ev-uh-nes-uhnt] / ˌɛv əˈnɛs ənt /

adjective

1. vanishing; fading away; fleeting.

2. tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.

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evanescent British  

/ ˌɛvəˈnɛsənt /

adjective

1. passing out of sight; fading away; vanishing

2. ephemeral or transitory

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Other Word Forms

• evanescence noun
• evanescently adverb
• nonevanescent adjective
• nonevanescently adverb
• unevanescent adjective
• unevanescently adverb

Etymology

Origin of evanescent

First recorded in 1700–1805; from Latin ēvānēscent- (stem of ēvānēscēns ) “vanishing, disappearing”; evanesce, -ent

Explanation

A beautiful sunset, a rainbow, a wonderful dream right before your alarm clock goes off — all of these could be described as evanescent, which means “fleeting” or “temporary.” Evanescent comes from the Latin ex, meaning "out of," and vanescere, meaning "to vanish." When pronouncing this word, emphasize the third syllable and note that the c is silent. You might want to practice saying evanescent a few times right now; if you stumble over pronunciation when you need this word the most, whatever you’re describing — be it a shooting star or a whiff of fragrant perfume — will be gone.

Example Sentences

While investors walk on eggshells anticipating Fed decisions, tariff relief, and evanescent cease-fires, one company is steadily feeding investors nutritious dividends, cash flows, and earnings per share growth.

From Barron's • Dec. 11, 2025

The writing had been individual attempts to capture moments, feelings, impulses; the reshaping was to shift those evanescent feelings into a coherent form.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2024

But it was in his novel “Next Season,” which I’m always foisting on theater friends, that Blakemore managed to capture the evanescent world of the stage in all its heartbreak and glory.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2023

The album feels more like a ghostly mosaic or a mirage — evanescent, bewitching, fragmentary — than an exact telling of that story.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2022

But first they were unmade, their edges fading like the evanescent white bird, Wraith, as it phased through the skin of the sky.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor