adj
evanescent
Evanescent (adj) means fading away or disappearing quickly.
adj
1
Fading away or disappearing quickly.
2
(physics) Describes an electric or magnetic field whose energy stays close to its source rather than spreading out as a wave.
3
(maths) Describes a number or amount that shrinks towards zero.
4
So slight as to be almost impossible to notice.
"And I was pale, and clear, and evanescent, like the light, and they were dark, and close, and constant, like the shadow."
— David Herbert Lawrence, [On the Lago di Garda] The Spinner and the Monks (1916)
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Etymology
Borrowed from French évanescent (“evanescent”), from Latin ēvānēscēns (“disappearing, vanishing”), the present participle of ēvānēscō (“to disappear, vanish; to die out, fade away; to lapse”). This is formed from ē- (a variant of ex-, prefix meaning ‘away, out’) and vānēscō (“to vanish”) (from vānus (“empty, vacant, void”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to abandon, leave”)), plus -ēscō (suffix forming verbs with the sense ‘to become’).
Related words
Rhymes for evanescent
See all rhymes for evanescent →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of evanescent?
"evanescent" (adj) means fading away or disappearing quickly.
What is the opposite of evanescent?
Opposites of "evanescent" include eternal, permanent, lasting.
What are the different meanings of evanescent?
"evanescent" has 3 main meanings: 1. Fading away or disappearing quickly; 2. (physics) Describes an electric or magnetic field whose energy stays close to its source rather than spreading out as a wave; 3. (maths) Describes a number or amount that shrinks towards zero.
