“He cannot ſuppreſs his diſapprobation […] of thoſe evaneſcent echoes of ſchool philoſophy, faint-warbling through the grove of letters, to the injury of natural and ſcientific knowledge, and the annoyance of English literature.”

— 1779 January, “Minutes of Agriculture, Made on a Farm of 300 Acres, of Various Soils, near Croydon, Surry. […] By Mr. [William Humphrey] Marshall. 4to. 12s. boards. Dodsley. [book review]”, in The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature (Series the Fifth), volume XLVII, London: Printed for A. Hamilton, […], →OCLC, page 25:

“The sea was each little bird's great playmate. […] In their airy flutterings, they seemed to rest on the evanescent spray.”

— 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Foot-prints on the Sea-shore”, in Twice-Told Tales, volume II, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 314:

“I trust your love which will work wonders; and I trust my own, which sprang at a look but only gathered strength and permanence when I found that the soul of the man I love bettered his outward attractions, making the ideal of my foolish girlhood seem as unsubstantial and evanescent as a dream in the glowing noontide.”

— 1911, Anna Katharine Green, “The Danger Moment”, in Initials Only, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, book II (As Seen by Detective Sweetwater), page 188: