Definition of fleeting in English:

adjective

• Lasting for a very short time.

  ‘for a fleeting moment I saw the face of a boy’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Her heavy lids hid her eyes so well that they were seen only momentarily, like the fleeting glimpse of water in a deep well.’
  • ‘Those joyful and fleeting moments in the streets give us a brief glimpse of what our worlds could be like.’
  • ‘And for that brief, fleeting moment, it almost didn't seem so bad.’
  • ‘It is in those unique dialogues, in those brief and fleeting moments, that we express ourselves and share our unique inner lives with others.’
  • ‘Paul caught a brief, fleeting glimpse of the computer screen.’
  • ‘His smirk turned into a smile, for the briefest of fleeting moments, before he rose from the table, and walked away.’
  • ‘A rifle cracked behind Swift and for one fleeting moment he thought he was dead, he lay still waiting for the pain.’
  • ‘Ryan's moments of full body movement were fleeting and two short routines were tantalising in their restraint.’
  • ‘Instead we can only hope that the odd fleeting moment of inspiration surfaces on what is destined to be an increasingly irrelevant continuance.’
  • ‘But beyond that, in the grounds I get a fleeting glimpse of what appears to be a parking lot for buses.’
  • ‘For one brief moment, I caught a fleeting glimpse of what looked to be hurt in her eyes.’
  • ‘Dousing her face and neck, she gazed for a fleeting moment into the water, her thoughts momentarily blank.’
  • ‘Suddenly, she saw a rapid, fleeting movement in the row of trees in their right.’
  • ‘But it was a fleeting glimpse, for at that moment she felt a stirring in the air around her.’
  • ‘The writer aims to take those fleeting, ephemeral, sensual moments and transform them into something rich, coherent and meaningful.’
  • ‘But then, of course, those brief moments of revelation were fleeting.’
  • ‘Sitting up for a fleeting moment, he took a quick gulp from the glass.’
  • ‘Joe looked up and for a fleeting moment Adam saw something flit across his eyes.’
  • ‘For a few minutes, no not minutes, hope was only there for a fleeting moment or two, but for that brief instance she'd believed it.’
  • ‘It's a formidable challenge for a first timer, but don't for one fleeting moment discount the young man's chances of landing what would truly be an outstanding double.’

  Synonyms

  brief, transient, short-lived, short, momentary, sudden, cursory, transitory, ephemeral, fugitive, evanescent, fading, vanishing, flying, fly-by-night, passing, flitting, here today and gone tomorrow, temporary, impermanent, short-term, rapid, quick, swift, rushed

  View synonyms