transitory

adjective tran·si·to·ry \ˈtran(t)-sə-ˌtȯr-ē, ˈtran-zə-\

: lasting only for a short time

Full Definition of TRANSITORY

: tending to pass away : not persistent

: of brief duration : temporary <the transitory nature of earthly joy>

— tran·si·to·ri·ly \ˌtran(t)-sə-ˈtȯr-ə-lē, ˌtran-zə-\ adverb

— tran·si·to·ri·ness \ˈtran(t)-sə-ˌtȯr-ē-nəs, ˈtran-zə-\ noun

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Origin of TRANSITORY

Middle English transitorie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin transitorius, from Latin, of or allowing passage, from transire

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to TRANSITORY

Synonyms: brief, deciduous, ephemeral, evanescent, flash, fleeting, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, passing, short-lived, temporary, transient, momentary

Antonyms: ceaseless, dateless, deathless, endless, enduring, eternal, everlasting, immortal, lasting, long-lived, permanent, perpetual, timeless, undying, unending

Synonym Discussion of TRANSITORY

transient, transitory, ephemeral, momentary, fugitive, fleeting, evanescent mean lasting or staying only a short time. transient applies to what is actually short in its duration or stay <a hotel catering primarily to transient guests>. transitory applies to what is by its nature or essence bound to change, pass, or come to an end <fame in the movies is transitory>. ephemeral implies striking brevity of life or duration <many slang words are ephemeral>. momentary suggests coming and going quickly and therefore being merely a brief interruption of a more enduring state <my feelings of guilt were only momentary>. fugitive and fleeting imply passing so quickly as to make apprehending difficult <let a fugitive smile flit across his face> <fleeting moments of joy>. evanescent suggests a quick vanishing and an airy or fragile quality <the story has an evanescent touch of whimsy that is lost in translation>.

Rhymes with TRANSITORY

a priori, allegory, amatory, auditory, bedtime story, cacciatore, castratory, category, con amore, cover story, crematory, damnatory, decretory, dilatory, dormitory, excretory, expletory, feudatory, fumitory, Göteborg, gustatory, gyratory, horror story, hortatory, hunky-dory, inventory, laudatory, lavatory, mandatory, migratory, minatory, monitory, Montessori, morning glory, nugatory, offertory, oratory, overstory, piscatory, precatory, predatory, prefatory, probatory, promissory, promontory, purgatory, repertory, Ruwenzori, signatory, statutory, sudatory, territory, understory, vibratory, vomitory, yakitori

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "transitory"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "transitory"

Nglish: Translation of "transitory" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "transitory" for Arabic speakers

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