ephemerality en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree English ephemeral Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English ephemerality From ephemeral + -ity.
Meanings
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(uncountable) The state or condition of being ephemeral; transience.
But in that quest, we sometimes lose sight of a central tenet: Nature’s ephemerality makes it all the more enchanting.
2024 May 10, Lily Stewart, “A love letter to lilacs and the joys of fleeting pleasure”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
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(countable) Something that is ephemeral.
So, too, the multiplication of bathrooms and the over-expenditure on broadly paved motor roads, and above all, the massive collective concentration on glib ephemeralities of all kinds, performed with supreme technical audacity.
1961, Lewis Mumford, The City in History, Harcourt, Brace & World, page 242:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ephemeralities | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
transiency · transience · ephemeralness (state or condition of being ephemeral) · evanescence · volatility · impermanence