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ephemeral

 [ih-fem-er-uhl]   Example Sentences Origin

e·phem·er·al

   [ih-fem-er-uhl]
adjective
1.
lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory: the ephemeral joys of childhood.
2.
lasting but one day: an ephemeral flower.
noun
3.
anything short-lived, as certain insects.

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Ephemeral is a GRE word you need to know.
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having a sense of the beautiful; characterized by a love of beauty
to free a person from deception or error
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Origin:
1570–80; < Greek ephḗmer(os) short-lived, lasting but a day (ep- ep- + hēmér(a) day + -os adj. suffix) + -al1

Related forms
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
EXPAND
un·e·phem·er·al·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. fleeting, evanescent, transient, momentary, brief.

Antonyms
1. permanent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To ephemeral
Example Sentences
  • I'm happy that the movie can give some pleasure to people, but acting is ephemeral.
  • It makes us appreciate the beauty in all that is ephemeral.
  • There can be no doubt that this experience is entirely abstract and ephemeral.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
ephemeral (ɪˈfɛmərəl)
 
—adj
1.  lasting for only a short time; transitory; short-lived: ephemeral pleasure
 
—n
2.  a short-lived organism, such as the mayfly
3.  a plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year, usually less than six months
 
[C16: from Greek ephēmeros lasting only a day, from hēmera day]
 
e'phemerally
 
—adv
 
ephemer'ality
 
—n
 
e'phemeralness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ephemeral
1630s, from Gk. ephemeros (see ephemera). Related: Ephemerality.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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