transitional

American  

[tran-zish-uh-nl, ‐-sish‐] / trænˈzɪʃ ə nl, ‐ˈsɪʃ‐ /

Also transitionary

adjective

1. of or relating to a transition from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another: transitional housing for people with serious mental illness.

   transitional governments;

   transitional housing for people with serious mental illness.

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Other Word Forms

• nontransitional
  adjective
• transitionally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of transitional

First recorded in 1670–80; transition ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

Sometimes people who have been laid off from their old jobs and haven’t been able to find new ones say they are in a transitional period. In other words, they are in the middle of a change. The adjective transitional relates to things such as governments, office spaces, or aspects of one’s life that are in the process of changing. This is a temporary state, until a permanent solution is established, and the word is often used with a sense of hope. For example, when someone goes through a romantic breakup and is hoping to find someone new, she might also say she is in a transitional phase. A synonym for transitional is interim.

Example Sentences

It’s a period piece, about a transitional period.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom extolled free school meals, universal transitional kindergarten and other accomplishments in his tenure in California, a period marked by over $100 billion in increased spending.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

What follows is a modest survey of great songs that capture the feel of an American town or region during a transitional period.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

So why did it unravel for the Dutch head coach who many Liverpool fans initially regarded as the calm, transitional Bob Paisley figure to predecessor Klopp's firebrand, charismatic Bill Shankly?

From BBC • May 30, 2026

It is this special America, a very untypical one I guess, an unfamiliar transitional blur in the memories of most people, which is the real America for me.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Related Words

• capricious
• fickle
• fluctuating
• mercurial
• protean
• shifting
• unpredictable
• unsettled
• unstable
• varying
• volatile