temporarily
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of temporarily
Explanation
Temporarily describes something that happens for a limited amount of time. If you agree to watch your friend's dog temporarily, you'll be surprised if it turns out that your friend will be in France for at least two years. Temporarily is the adverbial form of "temporary," which comes from the Latin word tempus, meaning time. Something done temporarily is supposed to be concluded in a finite amount of time. If your car is temporarily out of commission, you expect that you will be able to fix it and get it back on the road. If you drop the word temporarily from that sentence, your car may be a goner.
Vocabulary lists containing temporarily
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temp
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The Mayor of Casterbridge
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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.
She hopes the procedure will help relieve her symptoms, at least temporarily.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Massie argued that temporarily dumping cheaper foreign beef into the American market could lower prices without giving U.S. ranchers an incentive to raise more cattle.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Information carried by a rapidly moving light wave can be transferred to much slower sound waves, where it is temporarily retained, and then converted back into light.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
I point this out because investors panicked earlier this week as the bottom appeared to drop out of the market — even if temporarily.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
When Dr. Johansen learns of the publicity, he temporarily revokes Joey’s travel privileges.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
