impermanence
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of impermanence
First recorded in 1790–1800; equivalent to im- 2 ( def. ) + permanence ( def. )
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.
While you meditate you brood on the impermanence of all things, including yourself, and envision yourself as a corpse, lying out on a bier, all life gone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
Dahlia Lithwick: The book is deliberately rooted in this paradox of permanence and impermanence.
From Slate • Sep. 8, 2025
"It expresses the fleeting joys, impermanence and yet hope of life," she concludes.
From BBC • May 1, 2025
Time-blindness causes late fees; object impermanence means we lose things and have to replace them.
From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024
Such was the nature of cause and effect, such was the impermanence of all things.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
