ephemeral

/ɪˈfɛmrəl/

/ɪˈfɛmrəl/

Other forms: ephemerals; ephemerally

Something that is fleeting or short-lived is ephemeral, like a fly that lives for one day or text messages flitting from cellphone to cellphone.

Ephemeral (ə-FEM-ər-əl) was originally a medical term with the specific meaning "lasting only one day," as a fever or sickness (Hemera means "day" in Greek.) The word became more general, coming to mean "lasting a short time," covering the life spans of plants or insects and then eventually anything that is fleeting or transitory. A related word is the plural noun ephemera, meaning "things that are meant to last for only a short time." Posters for a rock concert are often ephemera, unless the band is so famous that they get saved and sold on eBay.

Definitions of ephemeral

1. noun

   anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
   synonyms: ephemeron

   type of:

   insect

   a small creature with six legs, three body fragments, two antennae, and usually wings belonging in the Arthropoda phylum
2. adjective

   lasting a very short time
   “the ephemeral joys of childhood”

   synonyms: fugacious, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory

   impermanent, temporary

   not permanent; not lasting