as in transience
the state or quality of lasting only for a short time
a poem about the ephemerality of beauty
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Recent Examples of ephemerality
Yet even in its ephemerality, dumb dumb culture can offer catharsis, laughter or distraction — which, in the right moment, can feel like salvation.
—
Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2025
In the 21st century, an array of avant-garde fashion designers have been drawn to the beauty and ephemerality of glass, which serves as a meta commentary on the transience of fashion—and life itself.
—Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2025
The statistic is notoriously volatile, and averaging such a short period only exacerbates its ephemerality.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025
Flowers are often emblems of ephemerality and mortality, as in the vanitas paintings so common in 17th-century Europe, where elaborate bouquets were often paired with skulls, fruit, and other reminders that blooming and decaying, life and death, are inseparable.
—Rebecca Solnit
october 19, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for ephemerality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ephemerality
Noun
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This transience helps The Darling stay fresh, allowing guests to engage with works at the cutting-edge of the Danish art scene.—
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The bond between [the lead characters] is a prism through which to experience both the transience and the permanence of what matters most to us in life.—
Noun
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Luzzatto said the relative shortness of that term is scaring away capital.—
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February was deemed an appropriate time for a special observance of Black history not because of the shortness of the month, but instead to coincide with the birthdays of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation.—
Noun
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Perhaps the fire had been a sign, the universe trying to teach me about the impermanence of objects and the futility of collecting.—
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The ritual of impermanence The manner of preparing powdered green tea depends on the techniques and practices of the various schools.—
Noun
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To explain why a gag is funny is to crush its soufflé evanescence.—
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The Stranger with its exploration of another facet of exile and belonging, this time set on a flood-prone German island that exists in a perpetual struggle between evanescence and permanence.—
Noun
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But transiency in the back of the bullpen extends well beyond Woodward’s arrival.—
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The council will hold a workshop outlining strategies and efforts to remedy homelessness and transiency in the city.—
Cite this Entry
“Ephemerality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ephemerality. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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