temporary

American  

[tem-puh-rer-ee] / ˈtɛm pəˌrɛr i /

adjective

1. 

   lasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent.

   a temporary need;

   a temporary job.

   Synonyms:

   passing, impermanent

   Antonyms:

   permanent

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noun

• temporaries
  plural

1. temp.

temporary British  

/ ˈtɛmprərɪ, ˈtɛmpərərɪ /

adjective

1. not permanent; provisional

   temporary accommodation

2. lasting only a short time; transitory

   temporary relief from pain

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noun

1. Often shortened to: temp. a person, esp a secretary or other office worker, employed on a temporary basis

Synonym Usage

Temporary, transient, transitory agree in referring to that which is not lasting or permanent. Temporary implies an arrangement established with no thought of continuance but with the idea of being changed soon: a temporary structure. Transient describes that which is in the process of passing by, and which will therefore last or stay only a short time: a transient condition. Transitory describes an innate characteristic by which a thing, by its very nature, lasts only a short time: Life is transitory.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontemporariness
  noun
• temporariness
  noun
• nontemporary
  adjective
• untemporary
  adjective
• temporarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• temporaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of temporary

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin temporārius, equivalent to tempor- (stem of tempus ) “time” + -ārius -ary

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Explanation

Use the adjective temporary to describe something that is not permanent. "Oh my goodness! That's a tattoo," your mother might shriek. You might tell her not to worry, since it's only temporary, and will wear off in a few days. The adjective temporary is used to describe something that isn't permanent or lasts only a short time. Its roots are in the Latin word tempus, meaning "time or season." An employee who isn't a permanent addition to the staff is temporary and in this use, the word is often shortened to temp. The lull in the wind and rain is only temporary, because you know you are in the eye of the storm.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

temporary temporaries

In Cardiff, a data centre developer is also seeking permission to build a temporary energy centre that has turbines with a maximum generating capacity of 49.9 megawatts.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Known as “silver loading,” this temporary fix is nearing its 10th birthday because Congress never corrected the funding flaw.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

According to the new theory, the temporary dominance of the heavy neutrino could have left recognizable signatures in those ancient signals.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026

The two-euro handling fee is a permanent levy but the three-euro duty on low-value packages is a temporary measure in place until July 1, 2028.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

And they sent me to a temporary foster place.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Ford raised its offer to $21 per hour with profit sharing and said it would make temporaries full-time workers after 90 days of continuous service.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2023

Presumably, some of the best candidates are employed--and aren't looking.We call that the Accolo Theory of Relativity: We're all temporaries; it's just a matter of degrees.

From Inc ● Mar. 25, 2013

Both temporaries and regulars in the superior court are benefiting from another efficiency measure: reducing jury size from twelve to eight when the contending attorneys agree.

From Time Magazine Archive

Included in the employed are part-time workers and temporaries.

From Time Magazine Archive

The greatest, however, that they could get up was, that I always paid the Wanyamuezi "temporaries" more than they got, though "permanents."

From The Discovery of the Source of the Nile by John Hanning Speke

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Related Words

• brief
• interim
• limited
• makeshift
• momentary
• provisional
• short-lived
• transitory

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