transience
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transience
First recorded in 1735–45; transi(ent) + -ence
Explanation
If your grandmother is always talking about how quickly the years go by, she is focused on life's transience, or briefness. Summer's quality of seeming to be over just as it's started can be described as transience — anything that feels impossibly brief has that same attribute. People most often use the noun transience when they're talking about good things, like beautiful days, a nice life, or a fun vacation, that seem to be over in an instant. The word comes from the Latin transiens, "passing over or away."
Vocabulary lists containing transience
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Sound and the Fury
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
These days, the transience of “Spiral Jetty” reads like an early warning of climate chaos.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
The bond between Noah and Allie is a prism through which to experience both the transience and the permanence of what matters most to us in life.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026
Most alarmingly, DRM accelerates the transience of our digital goods.
From Slate • Dec. 26, 2023
In it, time travel becomes a potent metaphor for the transience of even the most permanent relationship, of love, loss, absence and longing, of the fragility and complications of our connections.
From Salon • Jul. 25, 2023
Like an old man with rheumy eyes watching children play, seeing only transience in their shrill elation and their wholehearted commitment to life.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
