fleeting

C2+ Topic:Time

US /ˈfliːtɪŋ/ UK /ˈfliːtɪŋ/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
lasting only a very short time; passing swiftly

They shared a fleeting glance before the train pulled away.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · lasting only a very short... transient ephemeral momentary brief passingshort-livedevanescent

Opposites

lasting permanent enduring perpetual eternal

Word family

Derived forms fleetingly fleetingness

Related forms fleet fleetingly fleetingness

Etymology

Present participle of the verb fleet ('to glide away, pass swiftly'), from Old English flēotan ('to float, swim, glide').

flēotan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time Word Formation & Derivatives

# fleeting

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈfliːtɪŋ
**IPA (UK):** ˈfliːtɪŋ

## Meanings
1. lasting only a very short time; passing swiftly

## Examples
- They shared a fleeting glance before the train pulled away.

## Synonyms
- transient
- ephemeral
- momentary
- brief
- passing
- short-lived
- evanescent

## Antonyms
- lasting
- permanent
- enduring
- perpetual
- eternal

## Derived Forms
- fleetingly
- fleetingness

## Related Forms
- fleet
- fleetingly
- fleetingness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: flēotan

## Etymology
Present participle of the verb fleet ('to glide away, pass swiftly'), from Old English flēotan ('to float, swim, glide').

## AI Etymology
Fleeting is present participle of the verb fleet ('to glide away, pass swiftly'), from Old English flēotan ('to float, swim, glide'). In present-day use, it means lasting only a very short time; passing swiftly. Derived formations include fleetingly and fleetingness. Related vocabulary includes fleet, fleetingly, and fleetingness.

## Topics
- Time
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

fleeting

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback