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

Etymology

Origin of temporary

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

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

Oman and Iran said their foreign ministers discussed an agreement to reopen the Strait under a temporary framework.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

He used Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a temporary 10 percent tariff on “all countries.”

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

If you don't want to spend money improving someone else's property, focus on temporary changes that can come with you when you move.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Oman, which sits on the other side of Hormuz from Iran, has been discussing with Tehran a temporary transit corridor to enable traffic to resume.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Now, with Wotton’s formulation of a tacit reserve, moral certainty was required to give way to a new sort of temporary knowledge, a purely provisional understanding.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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

As the month goes on, Chile's writers will meet their U.S. con temporaries for panel discussions of the Chilean novel, featuring Sometime Critic Arthur Schlesinger, and theater, featuring Director Jose Quintero.

From Time Magazine Archive

Most temporaries and junior professors, however, are subservient to administrators and senior faculty in their own departments and feel wary of espousing anything too controversial.

From Time Magazine Archive

At twelve months the two central temporary incisors give place to the permanents; these last are more square in form than the temporaries, and are thus easily distinguished.

From The Pig Breeding, Rearing, and Marketing by Sanders Spencer

Related Words

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