temporary

[ tem-puh-rer-ee ]

adjective

1. lasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent:

   a temporary need;

   a temporary job.

   Synonyms: passing, impermanent

   Antonyms: permanent

noun

, plural tem·po·rar·ies.

1. temp ( def 1 ).

temporary

/ ˈtɛmprərɪ; ˈtɛmpərərɪ /

adjective

1. not permanent; provisional

   temporary accommodation

2. lasting only a short time; transitory

   temporary relief from pain

noun

1. a person, esp a secretary or other office worker, employed on a temporary basis Often shortened totemp

Derived Forms

• ˈtemporariness, noun
• ˈtemporarily, adverb

Other Words From

• tem·po·rar·i·ly [tem-p, uh, -, rair, -, uh, -lee, tem, -p, uh, -rer-], adverb
• tem·po·rar·i·ness noun
• non·tem·po·rar·i·ness noun
• non·tem·po·rar·y adjective
• un·tem·po·rar·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of temporary¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin temporārius, equivalent to tempor- (stem of tempus ) “time” + -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of temporary¹

C16: from Latin temporārius, from tempus time

Synonym Study

Temporary, transient, transitory agree in referring to that which is not lasting or permanent. Temporary implies an arrangement established with no thought of continuance but with the idea of being changed soon: a temporary structure. Transient describes that which is in the process of passing by, and which will therefore last or stay only a short time: a transient condition. Transitory describes an innate characteristic by which a thing, by its very nature, lasts only a short time: Life is transitory.

Example Sentences

The bill, which passed Congress without opposition, is only a temporary fix and expires in 2015.

From The Daily Beast

Workers built a temporary rail track through the city to move the statue in a process that took three days.

From The Daily Beast

On Monday, de Blasio called for a temporary halt to protests until after the funerals of the two slain officers.

From The Daily Beast

This month a judge intervened and granted a 30-day temporary stay on police action against Abbott.

From The Daily Beast

Or are the risks so great that a temporary ban is necessary?

From The Daily Beast

It was only a hut of rough boards, carelessly knocked together for a shepherd's temporary home.

From Project Gutenberg

But her attention was all absorbed by the swiftly executed act by which Garnache had gained at least a temporary advantage.

From Project Gutenberg

Close to the wagon in which our hero lay the natives had erected a temporary hut of grass, about six feet high.

From Project Gutenberg

Industrial society is therefore mobile, elastic, standing at any moment in a temporary and unstable equilibrium.

From Project Gutenberg

For these plays were not the work of a professional writer, but the recreation of a (temporary) professional soldier.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brief
• interim
• limited
• makeshift
• momentary
• provisional
• short-lived
• transitory