provisional

American  

[pruh-vizh-uh-nl] / prəˈvɪʒ ə nl /

adjective

1. providing or serving for the time being only; existing only until permanently or properly replaced; temporary.

   a provisional government.

   Synonyms:

   pro tempore, ad interim, stopgap, short-term, interim

2. accepted or adopted tentatively; conditional; contingent.

   Synonyms:

   probationary, dependent

3. (usually initial capital letter) of or being the wing of the Irish Republican Army that follows a policy of violence.

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noun

1. Philately. a stamp that serves temporarily, pending the appearance of the regular issue, or during a temporary shortage of the regular stamps.

2. a provisional member of a group.

3. Usually Provisional a member of the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army.

Provisional ¹ British  

/ prəˈvɪʒənəl /

adjective

1. of, designating, or relating to the unofficial factions of the IRA and Sinn Féin that became increasingly dominant following a split in 1969. The Provisional movement remained committed to a policy of terrorism until its ceasefires of the mid-1990s

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noun

1. Also called: Provo.  a member of the Provisional IRA or Sinn Féin

provisional ² British  

/ prəˈvɪʒənəl, prəˈvɪʒənərɪ /

adjective

1. subject to later alteration; temporary or conditional

   a provisional decision

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noun

1. a postage stamp surcharged during an emergency to alter the stamp's denomination or significance until a new or regular issue is printed

Other Word Forms

• nonprovisional adjective
• nonprovisionally adverb
• nonprovisionary adjective
• provisionality noun
• provisionally adverb
• provisionalness noun
• unprovisional adjective

Etymology

Origin of provisional

First recorded in 1595–1605; provision + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Among European data, provisional purchasing managers’ data and U.K. inflation data will mark the highlight.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ofcom has given 4chan 10 working days to respond to its provisional notice that the site has broken its rules, including over age checks and a risk assessment of illegal content on the site.

From BBC

He started all five games as France regained the Six Nations in 2025, and was selected in their provisional squad for this year's tournament.

From BBC

"This solution -- of provisional detention facilities, without trial, without prospects -- was never going to be sustainable in a highly volatile region," he said.

From Barron's

He says realized prices are in line with expectations, although it is unclear whether a $758 million revenue boost from provisional pricing impacts is captured by consensus estimates.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• conditional
• interim
• temporary
• transitional