fleeting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fleeting
Explanation
Fleeting is an adjective that describes something that happens really fast, or something that doesn’t last as long as you’d like. Driving in a car on the highway, you see a unicorn in the woods, but you only get a fleeting glimpse of it because you’re driving too fast. Bummer. Fleeting comes from the Old English word flēotan, which means “float, swim.” Like a ghost ship floating by on a foggy night, fleeting things disappear as fast as they appear. Fleeting love may last more than a moment, but it won’t stay for very long, and that’s why it’s called fleeting.
Vocabulary lists containing fleeting
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
What will the next scan bring when it comes to a treatment, surgery, or side effect that means this healthy, happy moment was fleeting?
From Slate • May 6, 2026
For a few fleeting days each year, India's often-shunned transgender community is welcomed and revered at a festival that is at once sacred ritual, celebration, and a refuge.
From Barron's • May 3, 2026
A 2018 Vanity Fair feature about the downfall of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein contained a fleeting detail about two statuettes that the Weinstein Company won back-to-back for The King's Speech and The Artist.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Today’s pop-up chefs, known for crafting fleeting, highly-curated dining experiences, are bringing more style to the kitchen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
I concentrate hard and paint fast to keep up with the fleeting images.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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.
