passing swiftly; not lasting
Origin of fleeting
Old English fleotende, floating: see fleet
adjective
The definition of fleeting is passing by quickly.
An example of fleeting used as an adjective is the phrase a "fleeting interest," which means an interest that a person only has for a short period of time.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"fleeting." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting>.
APA Style
fleeting. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting
fleeting
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"fleeting." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting>.
APA Style
fleeting. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting
fleeting
adjective
Passing quickly; ephemeral: a fleeting glimpse; a fleeting interest in the campaign.
Related Forms:
- fleet′ing·ly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"fleeting." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting>.
APA Style
fleeting. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting
Verb
- Present participle of fleet.
Origin
From Middle English fleten (“to float”), from Old English flēotan (“to float”).
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"fleeting." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting>.
APA Style
fleeting. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fleeting
Sentence Examples
- The sense was fleeting and overwhelming.
- No grave note, warning us that the pleasures of this earth are fleeting, that the visible world is but a symbol of the invisible, that human life is a probation for the life beyond, interrupts the tinkling music as of castanets and tripping feet which gives a novel charm to these unique relics of the 13th century.
- Images flowed behind her eyelids, most too fleeting to catch.
- It enables him to fix fleeting memories and to communicate with his fellows.
- Dean had a fleeting sense of relief that Corday hadn't pressed him for Cynthia's address.
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WORDS NEAR fleeting IN THE DICTIONARY
- fleeting
- fleetes
- fleetest
- fleetfooted