easy
The soap bubble had an ephemeral rainbow that vanished when it burst.
What does Ephemeral mean?
Ephemeral means lasting only briefly. An ephemeral can also be a short-lived thing or a plant with a brief active season.
Dictionary definition
Lasting for a very short time, or concerned with something of only brief interest. In a narrower use it means lasting just one day. As a noun, an ephemeral is something short-lived, especially an organism with a brief active life or a plant with a short growing period. Spring ephemerals can be perennial plants that grow and flower early, then become dormant rather than dying altogether.
Example sentences
Ephemeral in a sentence
medium
The fashion column focused on ephemeral trends rather than lasting changes.
medium
Virginia bluebells are spring ephemerals that become dormant after flowering and setting seed.
Writing practice
Ready to write your own? Study the examples, then practice ephemeral in a sentence with Sentence Builder checklist feedback.
Quick practice
⬡ Earn 5 Honey
Practice the meaning of Ephemeral
Answer three quick questions about its meaning and related words.
Question 1 of 3
Practice 1
Which detail best explains why a chalk picture is ephemeral?
The short duration makes it ephemeral; colour, subject and planning do not determine how long it lasts.
Practice 2
A spring ephemeral flowers, then loses its leaves and returns next spring. Which explanation fits?
Spring ephemerals can survive underground and return. A brief growing period is different from the death of the whole plant.
Practice 3
Choose the noun: The ___ of the rainbow made us stop to look before it faded.
Ephemerality names short duration as a quality. Ephemeral can be an adjective or a noun for a short-lived thing, but not this abstract quality.
Practice complete
Nice work!
You completed 3 questions.
Pronunciation coach
⬡ Earn 5 Honey
Ephemeral
Voice settings
Sounds like
ih · fem · uh · rul · strongest beat: fem
Tap each sound part, then blend the whole word together.
Learn
WordEphemeral.
Partadjective, noun.
MeaningEphemeral means lasting only briefly. An ephemeral can also be a short-lived thing or a plant with a brief active season.
ExampleExample: The soap bubble had an ephemeral rainbow that vanished when it burst.
Word breakdown
4 syllables. Say each part, then blend the word.
- Syllables
- ih · fem · uh · rul
- Strongest beat
- fem
- Ending
- rul
- Tip
- Put a little extra energy on fem.
Your turn
Say Ephemeral
Record a short attempt, then compare it with the Coach. Your recording stays on this device and is not uploaded.
Coach
My attempt
Ready when you are.
Nice work—you practiced ephemeral.
Synonyms
Words like Ephemeral
Antonyms
Opposite words
lastingUse for an effect or interest that continues for a long time; this contrasts brief duration.
Synonym practice
Word family
Ephemeral word family
Base word
ephemeral
adverb
ephemerally
For a brief time or in a short-lived way: the pattern appeared ephemerally on the water.
noun
ephemerality
The quality of lasting only briefly: the ephemerality of a soap bubble.
Related words
Explore related words
Student support
Understand Ephemeral
Hint for students
Stress FEM in ih-FEM-uh-rul; a FEEM vowel and a compressed FEM-rul are also used. This formal word draws attention to brief duration, not a fixed number of hours.
Common mix-up
Ephemeral does not generally mean exactly one day, and it does not mean weightless or ghostly. A spring ephemeral may survive underground after its leaves disappear; do not assume the whole plant has died.
Try it in class or at home
Have students compare a soap bubble, a sand drawing before high tide and a stone carving. Write one ephemeral example with a time clue, then use the bluebell example to explain how a brief active season can repeat each year.
Teacher prompt
Read: The soap bubble had an ephemeral rainbow that vanished when it burst. Contrast it with a painted rainbow on a wall, and explain why duration rather than beauty controls the word choice.
Learning activities
Practice Ephemeral and explore more word games
Cards labelled “Practice EPHEMERAL” keep this word in focus. Explore cards open games with other words.
Practice EPHEMERAL
Sentence Builder
Write your own sentence with this word and revise with checklist feedback.
Write a sentence with EPHEMERAL
Explore · Spelling
Spell Hive
Hear the word, type the spelling, and use spoken clues when needed.
Practice spelling
Explore · Definitions
Define the Word Hive
Choose the meaning that fits and get instant feedback.
Practice definitions
Explore · Matching
Vocabulary Match
Pair words with meanings and review misses with dictionary links.
Match meanings
Explore · Context
Context Clue Challenge
Use sentence clues to choose the word that fits the meaning.
Use context clues
Explore · Synonyms
Synonym Search
Compare nearby meanings and choose the closest match.
Compare meanings
Explore · Scramble
Scrambled Bees
Rebuild words from mixed-up letters for spelling practice.
Rebuild words