All Words > Ephemeral

illustration Ephemeral

Ephemeral

[ə-fem-ər-əl]

Part of speech: adjective

Origin: Greek, 16th century

1.

Fleeting or short-lived

2.

Lasting for a single day

Examples of Ephemeral in a sentence

"My ephemeral romance lasted only through the summer, but I'll always treasure it."

"Fads are ephemeral — they're popular for a short time before the masses move on to the next big thing."

About Ephemeral

You might think of a 'jiffy' as a generally ephemeral — or short-lived, non-permanent — measurement of time, but did you know it's an actual, measurable unit? It accounts for the time it takes for light to travel the distance of a single nucleon.

Did you Know?

While ephemeral has come to describe anything fleeting or not lasting, it comes from a Greek word that specifically means "lasting a day." We now think of ephemeral things as lasting far less time, often just a passing moment.

illustration Ephemeral

Recent Words

What's the word?