Synonyms for temporary
- adjective
Most common
transitory transient short-lived ephemeral impermanent temporal make-shift
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Transitory — existing only for a short time or short times
transitory, transient, short-lived, ephemeral, fleeting, brief, momentary, passing, short, earthly, perishable, volatile, flying, fugitive, deciduous, transitive, fugacious rare
2. Impermanent — not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time
3. Jury-rigged
Other
provisional, non-permanent, interim, working, acting, irregular, pro tem US, pro tempore US, temporaneous dated
Definitions
- adj. 1
Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time.
Sally was put in temporary charge of the department while they searched for a full-time replacement.
- adj. 2
Existing only for a short time or short times.
Related words
- Word family
- temporarily temporariness temporality
- Phrases
- temporary tooth
Choose the right word
A thing is transient which in fact is not lasting; a thing is transitory which by its very nature must soon pass away; a thing is temporary (L. tempus, time) which is intended to last or be made use of but a little while; as, a transient joy; this transitory life; a temporary chairman.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- transient Everything is transient and therefore sorrowful.
- ephemeral Love's pleasure is ephemeral; regret eternal.
- interim It was only supposed to be an interim solution.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| temporary | falling | |
| transient | steady | |
| ephemeral | rising | |
| transitory | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- short1, brief1
- 6 letters
- acting2, flying2
- 7 letters
- working2, passing2, interim3, earthly2
- 8 letters
- volatile3, temporal3, fugitive3, fleeting2
- 9 letters
- irregular4, transient2, momentary4, ephemeral4, deciduous4, fugacious
- 10 letters
- improvised3, perishable4, transitive, transitory4
- 11 letters
- provisional4, impermanent
- 12 letters
- temporaneous
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (acting2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- temporaire