temporary
[ tem-puh-rer-ee ]
/ ˈtɛm pəˌrɛr i /
adjective
lasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent: a temporary need; a temporary job.
noun, plural tem·po·rar·ies.
an office worker hired, usually through an agency on a per diem basis, for a short period of time.
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RELATED WORDS
limited, short-lived, brief, makeshift, interim, transitory, provisional, momentary, short, supply, perishable, alternate, ephemeral, fugitive, summary, acting, transient, mortal, impermanent, volatile
Nearby words
- temporal ridge,
- temporal summation,
- temporal-lobe epilepsy,
- temporality,
- temporalize,
- temporary cartilage,
- temporary denture,
- temporary duty,
- temporary hardness,
- temporary life annuity
Origin of temporary
SYNONYMS FOR temporary
1. impermanent, passing. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for temporary
temporary
/ (ˈtɛmpərərɪ, ˈtɛmprərɪ) /
adjective
not permanent; provisionaltemporary accommodation
lasting only a short time; transitorytemporary relief from pain
noun plural -raries
a person, esp a secretary or other office worker, employed on a temporary basisOften shortened to: temp
Word Origin for temporary
C16: from Latin temporārius, from tempus time
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
temporary
1540s, from Latin temporarius "of seasonal character, lasting a short time," from tempus (genitive temporis) "time, season" (see temporal). The noun meaning "person employed only for a time" is recorded from 1848.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper