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

U.S. jobs data and eurozone provisional inflation figures for March will attract attention in the coming week as data begins to give a picture of how the war in the Middle East has affected economies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

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

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 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

“That there’s going to be no transition at all? No interim period for—I don’t know—a provisional government-in-training? Just wham, the Belgians are gone and the Congolese have to run everything on their own?”

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• conditional
• interim
• temporary
• transitional