This word is from one of the books that I am now reading, Mark Jerome Walters' Seeking the Sacred Raven: Politics and Extinctions on a Hawai'ian Island. This book is a fascinating portrayal of the myriad difficulties involved with trying to save an endangered species.
Evanescent (ev-uh-NES-uhnt) [Latin ÄvÄnÄscent- (s. of ÄvÄnÄscÄns): vanishing, disappearing.]
adj.
- vanishing; fading away; fleeting.
- tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.
Usage: The bird, I sometimes imagined, were I to fully comprehend its many dimensions, could deepen my understanding of both culture and biology and, perhaps, even my own evanescent presence on an ancient planet.
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Kindred
“Our knowledge of physics only takes us back so far. Before this instant of cosmic time, all the laws of physics or chemistry are as evanescent as rings of smoke.” -Joe Silk
An important tip to book authors who want to decry the ability of others to engage a consensus: don't alienate the literate, thinking part of your readership yourself.