What is another word for ephemeral?
Synonyms for ephemeral
ɪˈfɛm ər əlephemer·al
This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word ephemeral.
Wiktionary
ephemeralnoun
Lasting for a short period of time.
Synonyms:
volatile, momentary, fleeting, short-lived, short, evanescent, temporary, transitoryAntonyms:
eternal, timeless, everlasting, permanentephemeraladjective
Existing for only one day, as with some flowers, insects, and diseases.
Synonyms:
ephemeron, short-lived, transitory, volatile, evanescent, temporary, fleeting, momentary, shortephemeraladjective
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 Antonyms
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, transitoryAntonyms:
abiding, enduring, eternal, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, perpetual, persistent, undying, unfading
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
Princeton's WordNet
ephemeron, ephemeraladjective
anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
Synonyms:
ephemeronephemeral, 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
Dictionary of English Synonymes
ephemeraladjective
Synonyms:
short-lived, transitory, transient, fleeting, flitting, evanescent, fugitive, fugacious, momentary, brief
PPDB, the paraphrase database
List of paraphrases for "ephemeral":
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1563","1"],["1574","1"],["1607","1"],["1628","1"],["1635","2"],["1644","3"],["1675","1"],["1680","4"],["1684","1"],["1705","1"],["1724","1"],["1731","1"],["1745","2"],["1765","4"],["1767","1"],["1774","2"],["1775","4"],["1777","3"],["1781","2"],["1783","1"],["1786","2"],["1787","2"],["1788","3"],["1790","2"],["1791","7"],["1792","3"],["1793","3"],["1794","13"],["1795","13"],["1796","16"],["1797","8"],["1798","7"],["1799","32"],["1800","30"],["1801","39"],["1802","29"],["1803","50"],["1804","43"],["1805","40"],["1806","70"],["1807","52"],["1808","51"],["1809","87"],["1810","72"],["1811","95"],["1812","88"],["1813","70"],["1814","116"],["1815","167"],["1816","129"],["1817","184"],["1818","212"],["1819","140"],["1820","177"],["1821","167"],["1822","172"],["1823","180"],["1824","258"],["1825","271"],["1826","252"],["1827","442"],["1828","321"],["1829","439"],["1830","346"],["1831","338"],["1832","437"],["1833","365"],["1834","460"],["1835","511"],["1836","497"],["1837","432"],["1838","540"],["1839","607"],["1840","587"],["1841","636"],["1842","476"],["1843","656"],["1844","587"],["1845","724"],["1846","703"],["1847","662"],["1848","829"],["1849","823"],["1850","1028"],["1851","717"],["1852","864"],["1853","962"],["1854","1210"],["1855","1093"],["1856","919"],["1857","847"],["1858","716"],["1859","990"],["1860","1140"],["1861","563"],["1862","573"],["1863","591"],["1864","769"],["1865","762"],["1866","670"],["1867","771"],["1868","787"],["1869","798"],["1870","784"],["1871","772"],["1872","883"],["1873","914"],["1874","921"],["1875","1027"],["1876","1074"],["1877","936"],["1878","862"],["1879","1061"],["1880","1219"],["1881","1050"],["1882","1369"],["1883","1398"],["1884","1238"],["1885","1182"],["1886","1270"],["1887","1259"],["1888","1222"],["1889","1222"],["1890","1357"],["1891","1520"],["1892","1444"],["1893","1468"],["1894","1727"],["1895","2150"],["1896","1966"],["1897","2004"],["1898","2058"],["1899","2278"],["1900","3137"],["1901","2415"],["1902","2703"],["1903","2271"],["1904","2837"],["1905","2668"],["1906","2464"],["1907","2768"],["1908","2570"],["1909","2340"],["1910","2339"],["1911","2586"],["1912","2392"],["1913","2389"],["1914","2282"],["1915","2178"],["1916","2016"],["1917","2118"],["1918","1767"],["1919","2074"],["1920","2824"],["1921","2164"],["1922","2566"],["1923","2347"],["1924","2324"],["1925","2179"],["1926","1894"],["1927","2425"],["1928","2554"],["1929","2134"],["1930","2400"],["1931","2288"],["1932","2099"],["1933","1640"],["1934","2300"],["1935","2330"],["1936","2312"],["1937","2410"],["1938","2436"],["1939","2601"],["1940","2079"],["1941","1873"],["1942","1567"],["1943","1603"],["1944","1365"],["1945","1513"],["1946","2192"],["1947","2415"],["1948","2996"],["1949","3206"],["1950","3200"],["1951","3037"],["1952","2951"],["1953","3151"],["1954","3219"],["1955","3558"],["1956","3615"],["1957","4087"],["1958","3996"],["1959","4167"],["1960","4508"],["1961","5215"],["1962","5548"],["1963","6095"],["1964","6282"],["1965","7008"],["1966","7466"],["1967","7941"],["1968","8950"],["1969","8541"],["1970","8566"],["1971","9457"],["1972","9302"],["1973","8529"],["1974","8232"],["1975","8230"],["1976","8607"],["1977","9189"],["1978","9195"],["1979","8932"],["1980","9550"],["1981","9708"],["1982","9491"],["1983","10042"],["1984","10527"],["1985","10411"],["1986","11426"],["1987","11559"],["1988","11395"],["1989","13083"],["1990","13855"],["1991","13522"],["1992","14951"],["1993","15699"],["1994","16322"],["1995","16486"],["1996","18317"],["1997","18510"],["1998","19574"],["1999","21143"],["2000","23908"],["2001","22619"],["2002","25204"],["2003","27450"],["2004","28832"],["2005","28569"],["2006","31218"],["2007","33470"],["2008","34392"]]
Words popularity by usage frequency
ranking | word | |
---|---|---|
#746 | short | |
#2436 | brief | |
#3606 | temporary | |
#3992 | flying | |
#4462 | passing | |
#4833 | casual | |
#12548 | transient | |
#12828 | volatile | |
#23316 | fugitive | |
#33406 | momentary | |
#34418 | fleeting | |
#39014 | ephemeral | |
#45661 | transitory | |
#49265 | cursory | |
#92204 | perfunctory | |
#94062 | evanescent | |
#106543 | flitting | |
#108179 | mayfly |
How to use ephemeral in a sentence?
Most of you have been where I am tonight. The crash site of unrequited love. You ask yourself, How did I get here What was it about Was it her smile Was it the way she crossed her legs, the turn of her ankle, the poignant vulnerability of her slender wrists What are these elusive and ephemeral things that ignite passion in the human heart That's an age-old question. It's perfect food for thought on a bright midsummer's night.
I don’t paint from emotion or feeling, which I think are both very ephemeral, for me, painting is much more about kind of trying to bring forth what is, I think, the universal truth.
All is ephemeral--fame and the famous as well.
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.
The myopic policy makers have no endgame. They stumble from one short-term fiscal or monetary stimulus to the next, despite overwhelming evidence that they only produce an ephemeral 'sugar high' and grow unproductive debt that impedes long-term growth, the chickens are now coming home to roost.
Translations for ephemeral
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- краткотраен, мимолетен, еднодневенBulgarian
- efímerCatalan, Valencian
- flygtigDanish
- vergänglich, kurzlebig, flüchtigGerman
- παροδικός, βραχύβιος, εφήμερος, ημερόβιος, πρόσκαιροςGreek
- momentaEsperanto
- efímeroSpanish
- kestävä, lyhytaikainen, päivä, ohimenevä, hetkellinenFinnish
- éphémèreFrench
- अल्पकालिकHindi
- efemer, kérészéletűHungarian
- tdk kekalIndonesian
- hverfull, skammær, skammvinnur, dægurlangur, skammlífurIcelandic
- transitorio, passeggero, fuggevole, effimeroItalian
- חֲלוֹףHebrew
- はかない, 束の間Japanese
- 재지 않는Korean
- duransLatin
- rangitahiMāori
- eendaags, vergankelijk, kortstondig, vluchtig, eendagsDutch
- ulotny, efemerycznyPolish
- efêmeroPortuguese
- efemerRomanian
- эфемерный, мимолётный, преходящий, однодневный, непродолжительный, недолговечныйRussian
- krȁtkotrājan, ȅfemēran, prìvremenSerbo-Croatian
- začasen, kratkotrajenSlovene
- efemär, kortlivad, förgänglig, flyktigSwedish
- efemeraTurkish
- עפעמעראַלYiddish
- 短暫的Chinese
Get even more translations for ephemeral »
Translation
Find a translation for the ephemeral synonym in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add these synonyms to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"ephemeral." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 18 Feb. 2025. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/ephemeral>.
Discuss these ephemeral synonyms with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In