Ephemeral

WORD OF THE DAY

ephemeral / adjective / ih-FEM-uh-rul

Definition
1: lasting a very short time
2: lasting one day only

Examples
The young YouTube star's fame was ephemeral but surprisingly lucrative while it lasted.

"After winter, the garden comes to life with the planting of spring-blooming ephemeral bulbs such as naturalizing daffodils, crocus, tulips, snowdrops and hyacinths that appear before the tree canopy 'leafs out' and perennials burst forth…."
— The Parry Sound (Ontario) North Star, 6 Mar. 2019

Did You Know?
The mayfly (order Ephemeroptera) typically hatches, matures, mates, and dies within the span of a few short hours (though the longest-lived may survive a record two days); poets sometimes use this insect to symbolize life's ephemeral nature.
When ephemeral (from the Greek word ephēmeros, meaning "lasting a day") first appeared in print in English in the late 16th century, it was a scientific term applied to short-term fevers, and later, to organisms (such as insects and flowers) with very short life spans.
Soon after that, it acquired an extended sense referring to anything fleeting and short-lived, as in "ephemeral pleasures."