fleeting

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfliːtɪŋ/ UK /ˈfliːtɪŋ/ See IPA manual

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

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

fleeting glimpse
a very brief sight of something

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Time flies
Matching variant: Time is fleeting

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

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# 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
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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