different between fleeting vs imperceptible

English

Etymology

From Middle English fleten (“to float”), from Old English fl?otan (“to float”), from Proto-Germanic *fleutan?, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fli?t??/

Adjective

fleeting (comparative more fleeting, superlative most fleeting)

1. Passing quickly; of short duration.
   • 1931, Martha Kinross, "The Screen — From This Side", The Fortnightly, Volume 130, page 511:

     Architecture, sculpture, painting are static arts. Even in literature "our flying minds," as George Meredith says, cannot contain protracted description. It is so; for from sequences of words they must assemble all the details in one simultaneous impression. But moments of fleeting beauty too transient to be caught by any means less swift than light itself are registered on the screen.

   • 2003, Gabrielle Walker, Snowball Earth: The Story of a Maverick Scientist and His Theory of the Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life As We Know It, Three Rivers Press (2003), ?ISBN, pages 34-35:

     During the fleeting summer months of his field season, when the outer vestiges of winter melted briefly, there were ponds and pools and lakes of water everywhere.

   • 2008, Barbara L. Bellman & Susan Goldstein, Flirting After Fifty: Lessons for Grown-Up Women on How to Find Love Again, iUniverse (2008), ?ISBN, page 12:

     For starters, we see examples all the time of some middle-aged men trying to hang onto their own fleeting youth by sporting younger women on their arms.

   • 2010, Leslie Ludy, The Lost Art of True Beauty: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Feminine Grace, Harvest House Publishers (2010), ?ISBN, page 5:

     And I am inspired afresh to pursue the stunning beauty of Christ rather than the fleeting beauty of this world.

Synonyms

• ephemeral
• See also Thesaurus:ephemeral.

Translations

Usage notes

Often used with nouns indicating mental, perceptual, or emotional states, such as: "a fleeting thought", "a fleeting glimpse" "a fleeting impression", "a fleeting hope", or to indicate that the shortness of duration might be regretted : "fleeting beauty", "fleeting youth".

Verb

fleeting

1. present participle of fleet

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French imperceptible, from Medieval Latin imperceptibilis

Adjective

imperceptible (comparative more imperceptible, superlative most imperceptible)

1. not perceptible, not detectable, too small in magnitude to be observed
   • 1986, Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, OUP Oxford (?ISBN), page 75:

     Very small benefits may be imperceptible. And it is plausible to claim that an 'imperceptible benefit' is not a benefit.

   Synonyms: imperceivable, undistinguishable, unperceivable

   Antonyms: detectable, perceptible

Derived terms

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From Medieval Latin imperceptibilis, equivalent to im- +? perceptible.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /im.p??.s?p?ti.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /im.p?r.s?p?ti.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /im.pe?.sep?ti.ble/

Adjective

imperceptible (masculine and feminine plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

   Antonym: perceptible

Derived terms

• imperceptiblement

Further reading

• “imperceptible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “imperceptible” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “imperceptible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “imperceptible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From the Medieval Latin imperceptibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p??.s?p.tibl/

Adjective

imperceptible (plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

Further reading

• “imperceptible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

From Medieval Latin imperceptibilis; synchronically analyzable as im- +? perceptible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /impe??eb?tible/, [?m.pe?.?e???t?i.??le]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /impe?seb?tible/, [?m.pe?.se???t?i.??le]

Adjective

imperceptible (plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible