impermanent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impermanent
Explanation
Impermanent describes something that's temporary, like a bad poison ivy rash, a one-day sale at your favorite store, or a message written in the sky by an airplane. The adjective impermanent is useful for talking about things that are fleeting or transitory; bubbles, the summer, a baby's cute lisp, and a wonderful dream are all impermanent. Many religions, especially Buddhism, emphasize the impermanent nature of everything in life, and the inevitability of change. The word at the root of impermanent is permanent, from the Latin permanere, "endure, continue, or stay to the end."
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.
He’s rough-hewn, simple, hardworking, not immune to the impermanent nature of the world but brought up short when that world goes awry; Mr. Edgerton has to give emotional depth to a laconic character.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
How impermanent we are in the arbitrary nature of existence.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024
And he wrote the piece because he felt like so many things on the internet are impermanent, right?
From Salon • May 15, 2024
Our digital life has become increasingly impermanent and is mostly outside of our control, making the threat and pain of digital loss ever more acute.
From Slate • Dec. 26, 2023
The building is as grey as the pavement below and the sky above, appearing as impermanent as the clouds, as though it could vanish into the air without notice.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
