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fleeting - 6 dictionary results

fleet⋅ing

  [flee-ting]
Use fleeting in a Sentence
–adjective
passing swiftly; vanishing quickly; transient; transitory: fleeting beauty; a fleeting glance.
Origin:
1325–75; ME; see fleet 2 , -ing 2

Related forms:
fleet⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
fleet⋅ing⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
passing, flitting, flying, brief, fugitive.

fleet

2  [fleet] adjective, -er, est, verb
–adjective
1. swift; rapid: to be fleet of foot; a fleet horse.
–verb (used without object)
2. to move swiftly; fly.
3. Nautical. to change position; shift.
4. Archaic.
a. to glide along like a stream.
b. to fade; vanish.
5. Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.
7. Nautical.
a. to move or change the position of.
b. to separate the blocks of (a tackle).
c. to lay (a rope) along a deck.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME fleten to be fleet, OE flēotan to float; see float

Related forms:
fleetly, adverb
fleetness, noun

Synonyms:
6. speed, hasten; beguile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fleeting
fleet 2   (flēt)   
adj.   fleet·er, fleet·est
  1. Moving swiftly; rapid or nimble. See Synonyms at fast1.
  2. Fleeting; evanescent.
v.   fleet·ed, fleet·ing, fleets

v.   intr.
  1. To move or pass swiftly.
  2. To fade out; vanish.
  3. Archaic To flow.
  4. Obsolete To drift.
v.   tr.
  1. To cause (time) to pass quickly.
  2. Nautical To alter the position of (tackle or rope, for example).

[Probably from Old Norse fljōtr. V., from Middle English fleten, to drift, float, from Old English flēotan; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]
fleet'ly adv., fleet'ness n.
fleet·ing   (flē'tĭng)   
adj.  Passing quickly; ephemeral: a fleeting glimpse; a fleeting interest in the campaign.
fleet'ing·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.
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Fleeting

Fleet"ing\, a. Passing swiftly away; not durable; transient; transitory; as, the fleeting hours or moments.

Syn: Evanescent; ephemeral. See Transient.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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fleeting  (adj.)
c.1225, from O.E. fleotende "floating, drifting," later "flying, moving swiftly," from O.E. fleotan (see fleet (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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