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fleeting

/ˈflidɪŋ/
/ˈflitɪŋ/
IPA guide

Other forms: fleetingly

Fleeting is an adjective that describes something that happens really fast, or something that doesn’t last as long as you’d like.

Driving in a car on the highway, you see a unicorn in the woods, but you only get a fleeting glimpse of it because you’re driving too fast. Bummer. Fleeting comes from the Old English word flēotan, which means “float, swim.” Like a ghost ship floating by on a foggy night, fleeting things disappear as fast as they appear. Fleeting love may last more than a moment, but it won’t stay for very long, and that’s why it’s called fleeting.

Definitions of fleeting
  1. adjective
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    “a fleeting glance”
    short
    primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
Pronunciation
US
/ˈflidɪŋ/
UK
/ˈflitɪŋ/
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