impermanent
Bound to end
Impermanent means not lasting or not intended to last.
An impermanent arrangement is temporary.
The word often carries philosophical weight, especially in Buddhist contexts, where impermanence is a fundamental truth about existence: All things are impermanent.
Less formal contexts typically use temporary instead.
Temporary, soon departing
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- briefShort in duration
- short-livedLasting only briefly
passing · transitory · evanescent · fugacious · temporary · flash · quick · instantaneous
Ceasing to be visible
- dissipatingScattering and fading out
- dissolvingPassing into solution
- evaporatingChanging from liquid to gas
- meltingSolid-to-liquid transition
disappearing · withering · declining · diminishing · dwindling · subsiding · waning · receding
Able to be changed
- alterableAble to be changed
- modifiableAble to be changed
- variableProne to fluctuation
- flexibleAble to bend freely
malleable · transformable · convertible · revisable · amendable · revocable · fluctuating · inconstant
Limited in duration
- interimProvisional in-between phase
- stopgapTemporary substitute measure
- makeshiftTemporary, improvised substitute
- tentativeUncertain and provisional
conditional · acting · stand-in · substitute · placeholder · transitional · bridging · improvised
Prone to sudden change
- uncertainNot firmly known
- insecureLacking self-assurance
- tenuousLacking solid foundation
- fragileEasily broken or damaged
shaky · vulnerable · unsteady · unreliable · risky · dicey · touch-and-go · iffy
transient
Temporary, soon departing
short-lived · passing · transitory · evanescent · fugacious · temporary · flash · quick · instantaneous · overnight
vanishing
Ceasing to be visible
- dissipatingScattering and fading out
- dissolvingPassing into solution
- evaporatingChanging from liquid to gas
melting · disappearing · withering · declining · diminishing · dwindling · subsiding · waning · receding · paling
mutable
Able to be changed
- alterableAble to be changed
- modifiableAble to be changed
- variableProne to fluctuation
flexible · malleable · transformable · convertible · revisable · amendable · revocable · fluctuating · inconstant · shifting
temporary
Limited in duration
- interimProvisional in-between phase
- stopgapTemporary substitute measure
- makeshiftTemporary, improvised substitute
tentative · conditional · acting · stand-in · substitute · placeholder · transitional · bridging · improvised · jury-rigged
unstable
Prone to sudden change
fragile · shaky · vulnerable · unsteady · unreliable · risky · dicey · touch-and-go · iffy · wobbly
- temporarytemporary, temp job, interim, temp worker, provisional
- worldlyworldly, cosmopolitan, globe-trotter, globetrotter, world traveler