Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Word Wednesday - evanescent

evanescent \ev-uh-NES-unt\, adjective:
Liable to vanish or pass away like vapor; fleeting.

This word does not mean what I thought it was going to mean.
Sounds like some thing bubbly. Like effervescent. Ginger ale. Champagne

No one knew their pensions were evanescent. Or their jobs for that matter.
It sounds more upbeat than the word really is. It's a fleeting thought that you can't get back. Not something you pop open to celebrate.
It's not a word that springs easily off my tongue. It isn't a word I use at all so it was new to me when I saw it in my inbox.
And I can see how powerful it could be. But for me it now has negtive connotations.
But things that are fleeting can be negative. In the sense that you'd like them to last longer.
Can you use it in a sentence?

1 comment:

Morgan Mandel said...

How about - Life is evanescent.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com