fleeting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fleeting
Explanation
Fleeting is an adjective that describes something that happens really fast, or something that doesn’t last as long as you’d like. Driving in a car on the highway, you see a unicorn in the woods, but you only get a fleeting glimpse of it because you’re driving too fast. Bummer. Fleeting comes from the Old English word flēotan, which means “float, swim.” Like a ghost ship floating by on a foggy night, fleeting things disappear as fast as they appear. Fleeting love may last more than a moment, but it won’t stay for very long, and that’s why it’s called fleeting.
Vocabulary lists containing fleeting
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Because muons are much heavier than electrons, they are especially sensitive to these fleeting quantum effects.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
Since then, Covid revenue has dwindled, though the latest quarter signaled an unexpected, perhaps fleeting, reversal in the trend.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
And then there’s “Lost Horizon,” another upbeat track that lightens the mood, even while being mindful of the power of friendship and the fleeting nature of our existence.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
What will the next scan bring when it comes to a treatment, surgery, or side effect that means this healthy, happy moment was fleeting?
From Slate • May 6, 2026
These are fleeting moments of private disquiet, only dispelled by abandoning herself to the joy and excitement of those around her.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
