Power held by male here, surprisingly short-lived (9)
I believe the answer is:
ephemeral
'short-lived' is the definition.
('ephemeral' can be a synonym of 'short-lived')
'power held by male here surprisingly' is the wordplay.
'power' becomes 'p'.
'held by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'surprisingly' is an anagram indicator.
'male'+'here'='malehere'
'malehere' anagrammed gives 'ehemeral'.
'p' inserted within 'ehemeral' is 'EPHEMERAL'.
(Other definitions for ephemeral that I've seen before include "life's too short" , "staying for a little while" , "Transient, fleeting" , "Having only brief existence" , "Fugitive" .)