transience

[ tran-shuhns, -zhuhns, -zee-uhns ]

noun

1. transient state or quality.

Other Words From

• non·transience noun
• non·transien·cy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of transience¹

First recorded in 1735–45; transi(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

The instrumental music is often skeletal, with an ensemble consisting almost entirely of plucked instruments, their quick decays a reminder of transience.

From New York Times

In the light of this transience, he states the best course is to “do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life.”

From National Geographic

"This transience for individual sets of microchimeric cells is remarkable, especially considering their protective benefits on pregnancy outcomes, and they represent only one in a million cells," Way says.

From Science Daily

“He’s looking at the world holistically. I feel like his practice is a way of creating a universal story of migration, immigration, transience, what is home and where is home.”

From Los Angeles Times

In it, time travel becomes a potent metaphor for the transience of even the most permanent relationship, of love, loss, absence and longing, of the fragility and complications of our connections.

From Salon

Related Words

• agitation
• anxiety
• disquiet
• edginess
• ferment
• instability
• jitters
• nervousness
• turbulence
• turmoil
• uneasiness
• unrest