Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
evanescent - 6 dictionary results

ev⋅a⋅nes⋅cent

  [ev-uh-nes-uhnt]
Use evanescent in a Sentence
–adjective
1. vanishing; fading away; fleeting.
2. tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.
Origin:
1745–55; < L ēvānēscent- (s. of ēvānēscēns) vanishing, disappearing. See evanesce, -ent

Related forms:
ev⋅a⋅nes⋅cent⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To evanescent
ev·a·nes·cent   (ěv'ə-něs'ənt)   
adj.  Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.
ev'a·nes'cent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Evanescent

Ev`a*nes"cent\, a. [L. evanescens, -entis, p. pr. of evanescere.]

1. Liable to vanish or pass away like vapor; vanishing; fleeting; as, evanescent joys.

So evanescent are the fashions of the world in these particulars. --Hawthorne.

2. Vanishing from notice; imperceptible.

The difference between right and wrong, is some petty cases, is almost evanescent. --Wollaston.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

evanescent 
1717, from L. evanescentem (nom. evanescens), prp. of evanescere "disappear, vanish," from ex- "out" + vanescere "vanish."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: ev·a·nes·cent
Pronunciation: "ev-&-'nes-&nt
Function: adjective
: tending to disappear quickly : of relatively short duration evanescent rash>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

evanescent ev·a·nes·cent (ěv'ə-něs'ənt)
adj.
Of short duration; passing away quickly.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see evanescent on Thesaurus | Reference