► short happening or continuing for only a little time: Today’s meeting should be fairly short. I’ve just been living here a short time.
► brief (also quick) short, especially because there is not much time available. Brief sounds more formal than quick: We made a brief visit to the museum. I had a quick meeting with my boss.
► momentary extremely short: There was a momentary silence when Ryan came in the room.
► passing short and not very serious: She hoped his interest in tattoos was just a passing phase.
► short-lived short and not as long as someone wanted or hoped: The ceasefire was short-lived.
► temporary fairly short and not expected to be permanent: I’m sure it’s only a temporary problem.
► cursory done in a very short time, without much attention to details: He gave us a cursory explanation of how the machine worked.
► ephemeral formal staying the same for only a short time: Teenage romances are often ephemeral.