ephemeral
Americanadjective
-
lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory.
The poem celebrates the ephemeral joys of childhood.
- Synonyms:
- brief, momentary, transient, evanescent, fleeting
- Antonyms:
- permanent
-
(of flowers or insects) lasting only a few days or less.
Lily of the valley is an ephemeral flower.
-
being of temporary value or passing interest.
She had a scrapbook full of ephemeral news clippings about forgotten events.
-
Computers.
-
being or relating to messages, images, or other data that are written to temporary or virtual storage only, and are therefore liable to change or be lost unless copied to permanent storage immediately or within a very short time.
Snapchat is an ephemeral messaging app.
-
being or relating to a temporary storage medium, especially a virtual one.
In case of a hardware failure this data will be lost, as it is only stored locally on an ephemeral drive.
-
noun
adjective
noun
-
a short-lived organism, such as the mayfly
-
a plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year, usually less than six months
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ephemeral
First recorded in 1570–80; from Greek ephḗmer(os) “short-lived, lasting a day” (from ep- ep- + hēmér(a) “day” + -os, adjective suffix) + -al 1
Explanation
Something that is fleeting or short-lived is ephemeral, like a fly that lives for one day or text messages flitting from cellphone to cellphone. Ephemeral (ə-FEM-ər-əl) was originally a medical term with the specific meaning "lasting only one day," as a fever or sickness (Hemera means "day" in Greek.) The word became more general, coming to mean "lasting a short time," covering the life spans of plants or insects and then eventually anything that is fleeting or transitory. A related word is the plural noun ephemera, meaning "things that are meant to last for only a short time." Posters for a rock concert are often ephemera, unless the band is so famous that they get saved and sold on eBay.
Vocabulary lists containing ephemeral
100 Top "SAT" Words
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 12, List 1
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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.
"That ephemeral, wet-dry landscape - all the wading birds will absolutely love it, and you'll get insects... and all the really cool plants and flowers."
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
These are intended to serve as tangible souvenirs of the ephemeral dream in Dataland.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
It contrasts the small “makeshift consolations” of our ephemeral human-scale lives—a shared cigarette, a game of cards—with the grand forces of progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Absorbing this well-chosen album is a treat, and a chance to appreciate the delicate mortality that thrives in a place simultaneously enormous, eternal and ephemeral.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Barack had experienced marriage as ephemeral: His mother had married twice, divorced twice, and in each instance managed to move on with her life, career, and young children intact.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
