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

Derived Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of evanescent

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