impermanent

[im-pur-muh-nuhnt]

See more synonyms for impermanent on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not permanent or enduring; transitory.

Origin of impermanent

First recorded in 1645–55; im-² + permanent

Related formsim·per·ma·nence, im·per·ma·nen·cy, nounim·per·ma·nent·ly, adverb

Synonyms for impermanent

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fleeting, temporary, ephemeral, evanescent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for impermanent

temporary, ephemeral, evanescent, passing, perishable, transient

Examples from the Web for impermanent

Contemporary Examples of impermanent

American artist Pae White is fascinated with the idea of turning something transient and impermanent into something real.
The Best Things to See at Frieze Art Fair NY 2013
Isabel Wilkinson
May 10, 2013

Historical Examples of impermanent

All conditions are impermanent, and so, in the profounder sense, unreal.
Exotics and Retrospectives
Lafcadio Hearn
In such moments the thoughts that visited her were impermanent and fleeting.
Mr. Incoul's Misadventure
Edgar Saltus
The necessity to counteract by impermanent sojourn the permanence of arrest.
Ulysses
James Joyce
Yet the need for religion is impermanent, like all else in life.
The "Genius"
Theodore Dreiser
Their lives are like their work,—impermanent, detached from others', unobserved.
What eight million women want
Rheta Childe Dorr

British Dictionary definitions for impermanent

impermanent

adjective

not permanent; fleeting; transitory

Derived Formsimpermanence or impermanency, nounimpermanently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for impermanent

adj.

1650s, from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + permanent.