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temporal

1 American  
[tem-per-uhl, tem-pruhl] / ˈtɛm pər əl, ˈtɛm prəl /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or situated near the temple or a temporal bone.

noun

  1. any of several parts in the temporal region, especially the temporal bone.

temporal 2 American  
[tem-per-uhl, tem-pruhl] / ˈtɛm pər əl, ˈtɛm prəl /

adjective

  1. of or relating to time.

  2. pertaining to or concerned with the present life or this world; worldly.

    temporal joys.

  3. enduring for a time only; temporary; transitory (eternal ).

  4. Grammar.

    1. of, relating to, or expressing time.

      a temporal adjective, such as recent, or a temporal adverb, such as recently.

    2. of or relating to the tenses of a verb.

  5. secular, lay, or civil, as opposed to ecclesiastical.

noun

  1. a temporal possession, estate, or the like; temporality.

  2. something that is temporal; a temporal matter or affair.

temporal 1 British  
/ ˈtɛmpərəl, ˈtɛmprəl /

adjective

  1. anatomy of, relating to, or near the temple or temples

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
temporal 2 British  
/ ˈtɛmpərəl, ˈtɛmprəl /

adjective

  1. of or relating to time

  2. of or relating to secular as opposed to spiritual or religious affairs

    the lords spiritual and temporal

  3. lasting for a relatively short time

  4. grammar of or relating to tense or the linguistic expression of time in general

    a temporal adverb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
temporal Scientific  
/ tĕm′pər-əl /

  1. Relating to or near the bones that form the sides and part of the base of the skull.

Other Word Forms

  • temporally adverb
  • temporalness noun

Etymology

Origin of temporal1

First recorded in 1535–45; from Late Latin temporālis, equivalent to tempor- (stem of tempus ) temple 2 + -ālis -al 1

Origin of temporal1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (adjective and noun) from Latin temporālis, equivalent to tempor- (stem of tempus ) “time” + -ālis adjective suffix; -al 1

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.

To explore the biology behind TLE, researchers examined donated human brain tissue that had been surgically removed from the temporal lobes of epilepsy patients.

From Science Daily

"Now we're using an array of 64 micro-LEDs to control the pattern of cortical activity. The number of patterns we can generate with various combinations of LEDs -- frequency, intensity and temporal sequence -- is nearly infinite."

From Science Daily

It rewards impulsivity, narrows one’s temporal horizon, and trains the mind to seek meaning in flashes rather than through accumulation.

From The Wall Street Journal

The lower temporal bar functions much like a cheek bone.

From Science Daily

On that view, spacetime is the map that records those happenings, allowing us to describe the spatial and temporal relationships between them.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.