evanescent
eva·nes·cent/ˌɛvəˈnɛsənt/adjective
evanescent is spelled E-V-A-N-E-S-C-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables (eva·nes·cent). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, evanescent means “Disappearing, vanishing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in evanescent?
| Letters | 10: E-V-A-N-E-S-C-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: eva·nes·cent |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 79,518th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is evanescent?
Evanescent appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce evanescent?
- UK /ɛvəˈnɛs(ə)nt/
- UK /iːvə-/
- US /ˌɛvəˈnɛsənt/
Evanescent has 3 syllables, split eva·nes·cent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-AcpoKrane-evanescent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with evanescent?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as evanescent from its last stressed vowel (/ɛsənt/):
- crescent
- fluorescent
- depressant
- effervescent
- obsolescent
- florescent
- pearlescent
- coalescent
- tumescent
- arborescent
- intumescent
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of evanescent
- more evanescent comparative
- most evanescent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does evanescent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Disappearing, vanishing.
- 2
Of an oscillating electric or magnetic field: not propagating as an electromagnetic wave but having its energy spatially concentrated in the vicinity of its source.
- 3
Of a number or value: diminishing to the point of reaching zero as a limit; infinitesimal.
- 4
Barely there; almost imperceptible.
- 5
Ephemeral, fleeting, momentary.
- 6
Of plant parts: shed after a period.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Evanescent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | évanescent |
| German | verschwindend, schwindend, evaneszent, vergänglich, dahinschwindend , verschwindend klein |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does evanescent come from?
Borrowed from French évanescent (“evanescent”), from Latin ēvānēscēns (“disappearing, vanishing”), present participle of ēvānēscō (“to disappear, vanish; to die out, fade away; to lapse”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away, out’)) + vānēscō (“to vanish”) (from vānus (“empty, vacant, void”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to abandon, leave”)) + -ēscō (suffix forming verbs with the sense ‘to become’)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).