transient
[adjective]
Synonyms: temporary, brief, ephemeral, fleeting, impermanent, momentary, passing, short-lived, transitory

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Antonyms: perpetual
Contrasted words: lasting, perdurable, permanent, substantial, durable, stable
Related Idioms: as transient as the clouds, here today and gone tomorrow
Related Words: deciduous, flitting, unstable, temporal, temporary, insubstantial

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English Thesaurus: temporary, provisional, stopgap, passing, ephemeral, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. tran‧si‧ent¹ /ˈtrænziənt $ ˈtrænʃənt/ adjective formal
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: present participle of transire 'to go across', from ire 'to go']

1. continuing only for a short time:
transient fashions

2. working or staying somewhere for only a short time:
a transient population
—transience noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. transient² noun [countable]
American English someone who has no home and moves around from place to place

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

temporary continuing for only a limited period of time:
I’ve got a temporary office job, but I hope I’ll find something more permanent soon.
I’m sure the problem is only temporary.
temporary staff
a temporary visa
provisional temporary – used especially about arrangements or information that people may decide to change in the future. Also used about licences or governments which are only arranged to last for a short time:
Does the hotel accept provisional bookings?
They have set a provisional date for the next meeting.
a provisional driving licence
In June, the rebels claimed to have formed a provisional government.
Provisional figures yesterday from the Department of Transport showed that 4,274 people were killed last year — 6 percent fewer than the previous year.
stopgap [only before noun] temporary – used about something that you use for a short time until you can replace it with something better:
The Republicans will approve the one-month budget as a stopgap measure to keep the state operating.
This is only a stopgap solution to the country’s debt problem.
passing [only before noun] temporary – used about an interest, thought, or feeling that is short and not very serious:
Tonight’s game will be exciting, even to those with only a passing interest in the sport.
As a student, I didn’t give working in finance even a passing thought.
ephemeral formal existing or popular for only a short time:
the ephemeral beauty of white snow on green trees and bare branches
Many new words, particularly slang, are fleeting and ephemeral.
transient formal continuing for only a limited time, or staying somewhere for only a short time – used especially to say that something is always changing, or people only stay somewhere for a short time:
the transient nature of life
transient changes in the electrical properties of the neurons
Arizona has a highly transient population.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲