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View synonyms for ephemeral

ephemeral

[ ih-fem-er-uhl ]

adjective

  1. lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory:

    The poem celebrates the ephemeral joys of childhood.

    Synonyms: brief, momentary, transient, evanescent, fleeting

    Antonyms: permanent

  2. (of flowers or insects) lasting only a few days or less:

    Lily of the valley is an ephemeral flower.

  3. being of temporary value or passing interest:

    She had a scrapbook full of ephemeral news clippings about forgotten events.

  4. Computers.
    1. 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.

    2. 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

  1. anything short-lived, such as certain flowers and insects.

ephemeral

/ ɪˈfɛmərəl /

adjective

  1. lasting for only a short time; transitory; short-lived

    ephemeral pleasure

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a short-lived organism, such as the mayfly
  2. a plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year, usually less than six months
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • eˌphemerˈality, noun
  • eˈphemerally, adverb
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Other Words From

  • e·phem·er·al·ly adverb
  • e·phem·er·al·ness noun
  • non·e·phem·er·al adjective
  • non·e·phem·er·al·ly adverb
  • un·e·phem·er·al adjective
  • un·e·phem·er·al·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ephemeral1

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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ephemeral1

C16: from Greek ephēmeros lasting only a day, from hēmera day

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