Meanings
plural impermanences · alternative impermanency · alternative unpermanence · alternative unpermanency
- uncountableusuallyLack of permanence or continued duration.
- uncountableusuallyThe quality or state of being impermanent.
I watch the ripples change their size / But never leave the stream of warm impermanence and / So the days float through my eyes / But still the days seem the same
1971, “Changes”, in Hunky Dory, performed by David BowieSynonyms: ephemerality, temporariness, brevity, briefness, caducity, ephemerality, ephemeralness, fleetingness
- uncountableusuallyBuddhismAnicca, the doctrine which asserts that all of conditioned existence is transient.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe quality or state of being impermanent.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe property of not existing for indefinitely long durations
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchimpermanence
- Englishimpermanence
From Middle French impermanence, equivalent to im- + permanence.
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian непостоянство, неустойчивост
- непостоянство (nepostojanstvo)lack of permanence
- неустойчивост (neustojčivost)lack of permanence
Chinese Mandarin 無常 /无常, 無常 /无常
- 無常 /无常 (wúcháng)lack of permanence
- 無常 /无常 (wúcháng)quality or state of being impermanent
Finnish pysymättömyys, pysymättömyys
- pysymättömyyslack of permanence
- pysymättömyysquality or state of being impermanent
Greek παροδικότητα, παροδικότητα
- παροδικότητα (parodikótita)lack of permanence
- παροδικότητα (parodikótita)quality or state of being impermanent
Irish díomuaine, neamhbhuaine
- díomuainelack of permanence
- neamhbhuainelack of permanence
- díomuainequality or state of being impermanent
- neamhbhuainequality or state of being impermanent
Latin impermanēntia, impermanēntia
- impermanēntialack of permanence
- impermanēntiaquality or state of being impermanent
Portuguese impermanência, impermanência
- impermanêncialack of permanence
- impermanênciaquality or state of being impermanent
Spanish impermanencia, impermanencia
- impermanencialack of permanence
- impermanenciaquality or state of being impermanent
Swedish obeständighet
- obeständighetlack of permanence
Vietnamese vô thường
- vô thườnganicca
Cite this entry
impermanence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impermanence
“impermanence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impermanence. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impermanence,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impermanence.
Source: impermanence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.