transient

[ tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt ]

adjective

1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
2. lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary:

   transient authority.

   Synonyms: evanescent, fugitive, flying, fleeting

   Antonyms: permanent

3. staying only a short time:

   the transient guests at a hotel.

4. Philosophy. transeunt.

noun

1. a person or thing that is transient, especially a temporary guest, boarder, laborer, or the like.
2. Mathematics.
   1. a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.
   2. a solution, especially of a differential equation, having this property.
3. Physics.
   1. a nonperiodic signal of short duration.
   2. a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.
4. Electricity. a sudden pulse of voltage or current.

transient

/ ˈtrænzɪənt /

adjective

1. for a short time only; temporary or transitory
2. philosophy a variant of transeunt

noun

1. a transient person or thing
2. physics a brief change in the state of a system, such as a sudden short-lived oscillation in the current flowing through a circuit

Derived Forms

• ˈtransience, noun
• ˈtransiently, adverb

Other Words From

• transient·ly adverb
• transient·ness noun
• non·transient adjective
• non·transient·ly adverb
• non·transient·ness noun
• un·transient adjective
• un·transient·ly adverb
• un·transient·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of transient¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin trānsiēns “going across,” present participle of trānsīre “to go across, pass over”; transit

Word History and Origins

Origin of transient¹

C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go

Synonym Study

See temporary.

Example Sentences

However, such is the transient nature of football, Fernandes’ return to form will now benefit someone else.

From BBC

Wanting to capture these transient movements, Xiao Hui Tai, a statistician at the University of California, Davis, and her former colleagues from the University of California, Berkeley turned to anonymized cellphone data from Afghanistan that revealed people’s movements between their home districts and nearby regions.

From Salon

Leave it to Sean Baker to make the heavy darkness of love lost and transient youth feel light and bright.

From Salon

Doctors determined Kubiak suffered a transient ischemic attack or mini-stroke, possibly related to dehydration.

From Los Angeles Times

“In a case like this one, focusing on ‘transient results’ may have profound consequences for the separation of powers and for the future of our Republic,” he wrote.

From Slate

Related Words

• ephemeral
• fleeting
• short-term
• transitory