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

The team has also submitted a provisional patent for this work.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

EU countries voted to allow the commission to move forward with applying the deal on a provisional basis in January.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

“I’m struck by that in a way the crayon or marker drawing is provisional — there’s no final form to it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

The opening of an inquest into her death at Gwent Coroner's Court heard a post mortem examination had given the provisional cause of death as one of multiple injuries.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

I’m not sure if it was for Tommy’s benefit, or for any onlookers’, but I’d kept my posture looking very provisional, and at one point made a move to carry on with my stroll.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• conditional
• interim
• temporary
• transitional