ephemeral

CEFRC2

/ɛˈfɛ.mə.ɹəl/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

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In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Existing or popular for only a short time.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Existing for only one day, as with some flowers, insects, and diseases.

Examples

  • Mayflies are ephemeral. As adults they live but a day. Sometimes it's a rainy day.

  • What is eternal in nature when everything is so ephemeral?

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Usually dry, but filling with water for brief periods during and after precipitation.

  2. Lasting for a short period of time.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. Something which lasts for a short period of time.

More examples

In context

  • Love's pleasure is ephemeral; regret eternal.

  • The graben constitutes a depositional basin and a topographic low, underlain by Cretaceous shales, in which volcanic debris accumulated in ephemeral lakes and streams in Oligocene and early Miocene time.

  • 1821-1822, Vicesimus Knox, Remarks on the tendency of certain Clauses in a Bill now pending in Parliament to degrade Grammar Schools Esteem, lasting esteem, the esteem of good men, like himself, will be his reward, when the gale of ephemeral popularity shall...

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The beauty of cherry blossoms is blank, lasting only a few days.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From New Latin ephemerus, from Ancient Greek ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros), the more common form of ἐφημέριος (ephēmérios, “of, for, or during the day, living or lasting but for a day, short-lived, temporary”), from ἐπί (epí, “on”) + ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”).