as in curiosa
things that are important or useful for only a short time; items that were not meant to have lasting value
—usually plural
He has a large collection of old menus and other ephemera.
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Recent Examples of ephemera
This exhibition of photographs, ephemera and historical film footage will highlight the key moments in the history of the museum.
—
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2026
Betty Boop is just one of several characters, books, recordings and ephemera entering the public domain January 1, 2026.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2026
For the most part, the resource library is centered on Japanese ephemera, more focused on design than fashion — there are books on typography, photography, textiles, and ceramics along with architecture magazines, museum-exhibition catalogues, and advertising manuals.
—Emma Orlow, Curbed, 19 Dec. 2025
As a classics student at Harvard, Thoreau was no doubt familiar with the ancient Roman ephemera of Ptolemy—charts tracking the movement of astronomical objects over time.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ephemera
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2026
Betty Boop is just one of several characters, books, recordings and ephemera entering the public domain January 1, 2026.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2026
For the most part, the resource library is centered on Japanese ephemera, more focused on design than fashion — there are books on typography, photography, textiles, and ceramics along with architecture magazines, museum-exhibition catalogues, and advertising manuals.
—Emma Orlow, Curbed, 19 Dec. 2025
As a classics student at Harvard, Thoreau was no doubt familiar with the ancient Roman ephemera of Ptolemy—charts tracking the movement of astronomical objects over time.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ephemera
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ephemera
Noun
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Click up to Sport or Race mode (available selections also include Wet, Comfort, and ESC Off), and suddenly the continent-crosser morphs into a high-strung canyon carver, one with enough punch to hang with more-muscular exotics.—
Jonny Lieberman,
Robb Report,
17 Jan. 2026
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These results further reinforced the depth of demand across both European exotics and culturally significant collector cars.—
Matthew MacConnell,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Temperatures remained solidly below freezing during both daytime and nighttime for several consecutive days — a rarity at a statewide scale for Texas.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Houston Chronicle,
13 Feb. 2026
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Eyes turn to this one because a win here seals a second straight league title for Methuen/Tewksbury (15-0-2), which is a rarity in the MVC/DCL Large.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The curio cabinets are empty of their curiosities.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
10 Feb. 2026
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Instead, this reboot might be misremembered as a direct-to-video curio — or rediscovered as a bad cult object destined to give some idiot cinephile alcohol poisoning.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ephemera.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ephemera. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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