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.

Wiktionary5.0 / 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 Antonyms5.0 / 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 Antonyms0.0 / 0 votes

  1. ephemeral

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

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

Princeton's WordNet0.0 / 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 Synonymes0.0 / 0 votes

  1. ephemeraladjective

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

PPDB, the paraphrase database0.0 / 0 votes

  1. List of paraphrases for "ephemeral":

    mayfly, short-lived, fleeting, transitory, transient

How to pronounce ephemeral?

How to say ephemeral in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#746short
#2436brief
#3606temporary
#3992flying
#4462passing
#4833casual
#12548transient
#12828volatile
#23316fugitive
#33406momentary
#34418fleeting
#39014ephemeral
#45661transitory
#49265cursory
#92204perfunctory
#94062evanescent
#106543flitting
#108179mayfly

How to use ephemeral in a sentence?

  1. Sybil Adelman:

    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.

  2. Hunter Biden:

    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.

  3. Marcus Aurelius:

    All is ephemeral--fame and the famous as well.

  4. 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.

  5. Stanley Druckenmiller:

    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

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"ephemeral." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 18 Feb. 2025. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/ephemeral>.

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