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

---

noun

plural

temporaries

1. temp.

temporary British  

/ ˈtɛmprərɪ, ˈtɛmpərərɪ /

adjective

1. not permanent; provisional

   temporary accommodation

2. lasting only a short time; transitory

   temporary relief from pain

---

noun

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

Related Words

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

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

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

Neither offered an exact timeline for how long the project would last, but Hegseth said it was "focused in scope and temporary in duration".

From BBC • May 6, 2026

President Trump announced a temporary pause to ‘Project Freedom,’ an operation aimed at opening the naval route.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Warsh’s preference is to lean on trimmed mean inflation, a measure that he says removes temporary noise, providing a clearer signal of the economy’s underlying price trend.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Another is that a comet impact delivered or released enough material to create a temporary atmosphere.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

“But it was a sight we did not like, for the floes were thudding against our floeberg with increasing violence. Our temporary home was being swept away at an unpleasantly rapid rate.”

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Related Words

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