Results for ephemeral
On this page:
 
Dictionary:

ephemeral

  (ĭ-fĕm'ər-əl) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Lasting for a markedly brief time: “There remain some truths too ephemeral to be captured in the cold pages of a court transcript” (Irving R. Kaufman).
  2. Living or lasting only for a day, as certain plants or insects do.
n.

A markedly short-lived thing.

[From Greek ephēmeros : ep-, epi-, epi- + hēmerā, day.]

ephemerality e·phem'er·al'i·ty or e·phem'er·al·ness n.
ephemerally e·phem'er·al·ly adv.
 
 

Temporary. Fleeting. Transitory.



 
Thesaurus: ephemeral

adjective

    Lasting or existing only for a short time: evanescent, fleet, fleeting, fugacious, fugitive, momentary, passing, short-lived, temporal, temporary, transient, transitory. See continue/stop/pause, time.

 
Antonyms: ephemeral

adj

Definition: momentary, passing
Antonyms: enduring, eternal, everlasting, interminable, lasting, long, permanent, perpetual


 

Short-lived. r-strategist plants are ephemeral in that they grow and reproduce rapidly when conditions are favourable, dying within a short space of time. Ephemeral streams flow only during and after intense rain. Such streams are typical of arid and semi-arid areas.

 
Obscure Words: ephemeral


beginning and ending in a day
 

A plant that flowers for a very short time, such as a woodland plant that blooms in early spring before the trees leaf out and block the sunlight; a desert plant that blooms right after a rain.

 
Word Tutor: ephemeral
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Lasting a very short time.

pronunciation Be aware of the ephemeral nature of material things. Lose your attachment to them. — Shui-ch'ing Tzu (between 1600 and 1911).

 
Wikipedia: ephemeral


Ephemeral things are transitory, existing only briefly.

An ephemeral waterbody is a creek, stream, river, pond or lake that only exists for a few days following precipitation or snowmelt. They are not the same as intermittent or seasonal waterbodies, which exist for longer periods, but not all year round. Examples of ephemeral streams are the Ugab River in Southern Africa, and a number of small ephemeral watercourses that drain Talak in northern Niger. Lake Carnegie in Western Australia and Lake Cowal in New South Wales are ephemeral lakes.

Ephemeral can also be used as an adjective to refer to a fast deteriorating importance of an object to a person. Brands are notoriously ephemeral assets. A sensation which is felt by a person for a certain period of time before needing replenishment can be referred to as ephemeral. Often, happiness is described as ephemeral, as one does not find it as a permanent state, with human lives always varying shades of happiness and disappointment. The Biblical phrase "This Too Shall Pass" succinctly expresses the ephemeral nature of all human sensations and existence.


 
Translations: Translations for: Ephemeral

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - kortvarig, døgn-, mode-, endags-, efemerisk
n. - enårig plante

Nederlands (Dutch)
kortstondig, eendags-

Français (French)
adj. - éphémère
n. - (Zool) éphémère

Deutsch (German)
adj. - eintägig, kurzlebig
n. - Eintagsfliege

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - εφήμερος

Italiano (Italian)
effimero

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - efêmero, passageiro

Русский (Russian)
эфемерный, мимолетный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - efímero, pasajero
n. - efímero, pasajero

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - efemär, kortlivad, dagsländelik

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
朝生暮死的, 短暂的, 短命的, 只生存一天的事物

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 朝生暮死的, 短暫的, 短命的
n. - 只生存一天的事物

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 하루 살 목숨의, 순식간의
n. - 덧없는 존재

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 一日の命の, 一日限りの, 短命な, はかない
n. - きわめて短命なもの, 短命な植物

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) سريع الزوال‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮בן-חלוף, קיקיוני‬
n. - ‮בן-חלוף, קיקיוני‬


 
 

Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "ephemeral" at WikiAnswers.

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. THIS COPYRIGHTED DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2008 Computer Language Company Inc.  All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2008 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd Read more
Gardener's Dictionary. Taylor's Dictionary for Gardeners, by Frances Tenenbaum. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ephemeral" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!  
Click here to download now. 

Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.

On this page:   E-mail   print Print  Link  

 

Keep Reading

Mentioned In: