passing

The word “passing” means lasting only briefly; temporary. In plain terms, can describe something brief and fleeting, a death, or the action of passing something along.

“Passing” is pronounced PAH-sihng (/ˈpɑːsɪŋ/ in IPA).

Here is “passing” used in a sentence: “It was just a passing fad, nothing serious.”

Depending on how it is used, “passing” can be an adjective and a noun.

“Passing” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Passing” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: lasting only briefly; temporary.

Passing means lasting only a short time and then gone, such as a passing mood or a passing trend. Permanent means lasting indefinitely and meant to stay. They are opposites on the scale of duration: a passing interest fades quickly, while a permanent one endures. Passing stresses how brief something is.

The two are close in meaning, and both describe something short-lived. Fleeting stresses extreme brevity, gone almost at once, like a fleeting glance. Passing is a little softer, suggesting something temporary that comes and goes, such as a passing phase. Both contrast with anything lasting or permanent.

A passing remark is a comment made briefly, in passing, without dwelling on it. A passing craze is a fad that fades fast. A passing shower is brief rain that soon clears. In each case, passing signals that the thing is temporary and will not last long.