adjective
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passing quickly away; transitory; fleeting
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botany lasting for only a short time
fugacious petals
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fugacious
1625–35; < Latin fugāci- (stem of fugāx apt to flee, fleet, derivative of fugere to flee + -ous
Explanation
Something that's fugacious lasts a very short time. You say you'll wear your trendy new jeans for years but the truth is, their style is so fugacious you'll feel silly in them long before they wear out. When you describe something that passes quickly, or that's ephemeral and fleeting, you can use the adjective fugacious. When you live in Maine, the summer seems fugacious, and after looking forward all year to your senior prom, you'll find the night so fugacious that it seems to last only an hour. The origin can be traced back to the Latin word fugax, which means "apt to flee, or timid."
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.
The Reporter, on the other hand, calls it "a fugacious bit of whimsy that can only be judged minor Woody Allen".
From The Guardian ● Jul. 18, 2014
Differs from L. procera in smaller size and more especially in the fugacious ring.
From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by George Massee
Stamens 4, or rarely 2, in all or some flowers with long and weak exserted filaments, and fugacious 2-celled anthers.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray
They have a fugacious, persistent friable ring, and are liable to be confused with the Cortinarii, unless attention is paid to the spidery veil and the iron-rust tint of the spores of the latter.
From Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous by Thomas Taylor
Style undivided or 2-parted, filiform; ovule pendulous; fruit an achene, embryo curved.—Trees or shrubs, with milky juice, alternate leaves, and fugacious stipules.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray
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