transient

[tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt]

adjective

not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.

lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.

staying only a short time: the transient guests at a hotel.

Philosophy. transeunt.

noun

a person or thing that is transient, especially a temporary guest, boarder, laborer, or the like.

Mathematics.

a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.
a solution, especially of a differential equation, having this property.

Physics.

a nonperiodic signal of short duration.
a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.

Electricity. a sudden pulse of voltage or current.

Origin of transient

1590–1600; < Latin transi(ēns) (nominative singular), present participle of transīre to pass by, literally, go across + -ent; see transeunt

Related formstran·sient·ly, adverbtran·sient·ness, nounnon·tran·sient, adjectivenon·tran·sient·ly, adverbnon·tran·sient·ness, nounun·tran·sient, adjectiveun·tran·sient·ly, adverbun·tran·sient·ness, noun

Synonyms for transient

2. fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent. See temporary.

Antonyms for transient

2. permanent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for non-transient

transient

adjective

for a short time only; temporary or transitory

philosophy a variant of transeunt

noun

a transient person or thing

physics a brief change in the state of a system, such as a sudden short-lived oscillation in the current flowing through a circuit

Derived Formstransiently, adverbtransience or transiency, noun

Word Origin for transient

C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for non-transient

transient

adj.

c.1600, from Latin transiens (accusative transientem) "passing over or away," present participle of transire "cross over, pass away," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + ire "to go" (see ion). The noun is first attested 1650s; specific sense of "transient guest or boarder" first recorded 1880.