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Showing results for impermanence. Search instead for praga permanente.
Synonyms

impermanence

American  
[im-pur-muh-nuhns] / ɪmˈpɜr mə nəns /
Rarely impermanency

noun

  1. the fact or quality of being temporary or short-lived.

    The novel poignantly explores the impermanence of childhood—the ebb and flow of memories and experiences that make up our disappearing past.

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

By all measures, this is a movie that needs to do well, even for a studio that prides itself on the impermanence of its properties.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2025

"It expresses the fleeting joys, impermanence and yet hope of life," she concludes.

From BBC • May 1, 2025

Restlessness, impermanence, and speed were embedded in the culture that soon emerged there, along with an openness to anything new.

From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser

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.