Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There’s a provisionality to the lines and shapes that suggests we’re seeing a painting in the act of being made, just as we’re seeing a body in the act of being formed.

From The Guardian • Jan. 31, 2020

Siegel's format is promising: The piece's voids and irregular edges make literal the provisionality of her records, and the weave itself speaks acutely of the layering of time, culture and belief central to her subject.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2017

We know how the story will unfold, but Cromwell does not, and Mantel's use of tense is a way of bringing alive this great plotter's sense of history's provisionality.

From The Guardian • Sep. 24, 2010

"What does this mean, Brice?" demanded his wife, with a terrible provisionality in her tone, as she stretched out the letter to him, and stood before him where he lounged in the cushioned window-seat.

From The Story of a Play A Novel by Howells, William Dean

"I will tell Mr. Maxwell," she said, with no provisionality this time.

From The Story of a Play A Novel by Howells, William Dean