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.

---

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

The transitional collection debuted last year in Rome, after shows in Scotland and Mexico.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Bompastor already has one eye on the future after admitting she expected a "transitional" campaign.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Heather Sifuentes witnessed the impact of preschool when she was principal of Parkview Elementary in Chico, California, as it began its transitional kindergarten program.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

It represents a transitional form, linking earlier Cambrian arthropods that seem to lack chelicera with later horseshoe crab-like species known as synziphosurines.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

When he stopped for a second, she gave him little transitional replies, such as “Yes?” or “Then what?” or “And then...?”

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Related Words

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