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• provisional
  provisional

  adjective

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

  adjective

  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

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 /

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

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

Etymology

Origin of provisional

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

Explanation

Something provisional is temporary, in the sense that it's only valid for a while. You'll often hear provisional used to describe things such as governments, elections, contracts, and agreements, all of which can change into something permanent. People who go camping take provisions, which means supplies for the trip. This can be helpful when you're trying to use provisional properly. Remember that those provisions are, well, provisional—they're only supposed to last until the campers get home, where the real food is waiting. If you're in a rush to start filming, you might consider giving your star a provisional contract, so that you can at least get started. You'll have time to replace the provisional one with a permanent one while you film.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

provisional Provisional

Factory output rose by two percent month-on-month on the back of strong growth in the construction sector, after a 1.2-percent fall in July, according to provisional data from statistics agency Destatis.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

France has seen around 98,000 hectares destroyed by wildfires this year, the highest level since 1976, according to provisional figures.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

The data for 2026 is provisional, with fewer observations feeding into calculations due to lags in data availability.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Microsoft published a provisional code of conduct that it aims to apply when training new AI models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Malia had a provisional license by then and was able to drive herself around town, though always with agents following in their own vehicle.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Provisional results announced by the country's electoral commission showed that 70% of voters backed the changes in Sunday's referendum, while 30% voted against them.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Provisional Met Office data shows that first 11 days of July brought most places less than 20% of their usual monthly rainfall.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Provisional data, released a week earlier, showed CPI inflation rose by a bigger-than-expected 0.8% versus a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday hailed the start of the deal's implementation, stating on X: "Provisional application will show the agreement’s tangible benefits."

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

A Provisional Government took the place of imperial rule in Petrograd and granted equality in law to Russian women, giving women the right to vote and to hold office.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• conditional
• interim
• temporary
• transitional