Synonyms for ephemeral
ɪˈfɛm ər əlephemer·al

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:5.0 / 2 votes

1. ephemeralnoun

   Lasting for a short period of time.

   Synonyms:
   volatile, momentary, fleeting, short-lived, short, evanescent, temporary, transitory

   Antonyms:
   eternal, timeless, everlasting, permanent

2. ephemeraladjective

   Existing for only one day, as with some flowers, insects, and diseases.

   Synonyms:
   ephemeron, short-lived, transitory, volatile, evanescent, temporary, fleeting, momentary, short

3. ephemeraladjective

   Usually dry, but filling with water for brief periods during and after precipitation.

   Synonyms:
   transitory, volatile, momentary, short, temporary, short-lived, evanescent, fleeting

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. ephemeral

   Transient and transitory are both derived from the same original source (Latin trans, over, and eo, go), denoting that which quickly passes or is passing away, but there is between them a fine shade of difference. A thing is transient which in fact is not lasting; a thing is transitory which by its very nature must soon pass away; a thing is temporary (Latin tempus, time) which is intended to last or be made use of but a little while; as, a transient joy; this transitory life; a temporary chairman. Ephemeral (Greek epi, on, and hemera, day) literally lasting but for a day, often marks more strongly than transient exceeding brevity of duration; it agrees with transitory in denoting that its object is destined to pass away, but is stronger, as denoting not only its certain but its speedy extinction; thus that which is ephemeral is looked upon as at once slight and perishable, and the word carries often a suggestion of contempt; man's life is transitory, a butterfly's existence is ephemeral; with no solid qualities or worthy achievements a pretender may sometimes gain an ephemeral popularity. That which is fleeting is viewed as in the act of passing swiftly by, and that which is fugitive (Latin fugio, flee) as eluding attempts to detain it; that which is evanescent (Latin evanesco, from e, out, and vanus, empty, vain) as in the act of vanishing even while we gaze, as the hues of the sunset.

   Synonyms:
   brief, evanescent, fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, momentary, passing, short, temporary, transient, transitory

   Antonyms:
   abiding, enduring, eternal, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, perpetual, persistent, undying, unfading

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ephemeral

   Synonyms:
   transient, evanescent, fleeting, fugacious, fugitive, momentary

   Antonyms:
   abiding, persistent, permanent, perpetual, eternal, perennial, immortal

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ephemeron, ephemeraladjective

   anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form

   Synonyms:
   ephemeron

   Antonyms:
   lasting, permanent

2. ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory, fugaciousadjective

   lasting a very short time

   "the ephemeral joys of childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is transitory but it is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms"

   Synonyms:
   passing, short-lived, passing(a), pass(a), transeunt, cursory, transitory, perfunctory, fugacious, casual, transient

   Antonyms:
   lasting, permanent

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ephemeraladjective

   Synonyms:
   short-lived, transitory, transient, fleeting, flitting, evanescent, fugitive, fugacious, momentary, brief

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "ephemeral":

   mayfly, short-lived, fleeting, transitory, transient

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How to use ephemeral in a sentence?

1. Taylor Swift:

   I really believe we in the music industry can work together to find a way to bond technology with integrity and just really hope we can teach the younger generation the value of investment in music rather than the ephemeral consumption of it.

2. Ilya Brown:

   We built Fleets as a lower-pressure, ephemeral way for people to share their fleeting thoughts, but... we haven't seen an increase in the number of new people joining the conversation with Fleets like we hoped.

3. Jack Ablin:

   Brick-and-mortar retailers are fighting over an ephemeral slice of a shrinking pie.

4. Pope Francis:

   The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life, let's think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings.

5. George Santayana:

   In endowing us with memory, nature has revealed to us a truth utterly unimaginable to the unreflective creation, the truth of immortality....The most ideal human passion is love, which is also the most absolute and animal and one of the most ephemeral.