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Definition of "ephemeral" []

  • 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). (adjective)
  • Living or lasting only for a day, as certain plants or insects do. (adjective)
  • A markedly short-lived thing. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "ephemeral" in a sentence
  • "When your entire brand is built on the temporary, fleeting, and inevitably obsolete currency of youthful physical beauty, sexual allure, and cultural status, the word "ephemeral" comes to mind."
  • "How, then, with that kind of history, do you think the government will fare attempting to prevent the flow of something so ephemeral is “electronic bits” around the world?"
  • "That moment where you know something profound and ephemeral is happening and you are not just the witness, put part of the action, the experience, absorbing every moment into every cell."