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

The world's glaciers had one of their five worst years on record in 2024/25, according to provisional data, while sea ice at both poles was at or near record lows throughout most of 2025.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

The TPS program gives provisional work authorization and protections from deportation to hundreds of thousands of immigrants from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters or epidemics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 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

Shortly after the meeting with Dr. Xuma, a provisional committee of the Youth League was formed, under the leadership of William Nkomo.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• conditional
• interim
• temporary
• transitional