transient

American  

[tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt] / ˈtræn ʃənt, -ʒənt, -zi ənt /

adjective

1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.

2. lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary.

   transient authority.

   Synonyms:

   evanescent, fugitive, flying, fleeting

   Antonyms:

   permanent

3. staying only a short time.

   the transient guests at a hotel.

4. Philosophy. transeunt.

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noun

transients plural

1. a person or thing that is transient, especially a temporary guest, boarder, laborer, or the like.

2. Mathematics.

   1. a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.

   2. a solution, especially of a differential equation, having this property.

3. Physics.

   1. a nonperiodic signal of short duration.

   2. a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.

4. Electricity. a sudden pulse of voltage or current.

transient British  

/ ˈtrænzɪənt /

adjective

1. for a short time only; temporary or transitory

2. philosophy a variant of transeunt

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noun

1. a transient person or thing

2. physics a brief change in the state of a system, such as a sudden short-lived oscillation in the current flowing through a circuit

Synonym Usage

See temporary.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontransientness
  noun
• transience
  noun
• transientness
  noun
• untransientness
  noun
• nontransient
  adjective
• untransient
  adjective
• nontransiently
  adverb
• transiently
  adverb
• untransiently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• transients
  plural

Etymology

Origin of transient

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin trānsiēns “going across,” present participle of trānsīre “to go across, pass over”; see transit

Explanation

Use the adjective transient to describe something that always changes or moves around. If your older brother is constantly moving from city to city, you can say he's transient. Transient is most often used to modify nouns like nature, threat, source and cause, which suggests that the word often shows up in formal contexts, like analysis of finance or global terrorism. But it can also be used for anything that moves quickly from one thing to another, like a transient feeling or facial expression. Transient is also a noun meaning "a person who moves from place to place; a homeless person." The word comes from Latin transire, "to pass over," so you can think of it as describing things that are quickly passed over.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transient transients

World Cup markets, is already seeing a 38% jump in average daily rates from transient travelers for the tournament period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

The system is also only the second known long-period radio transient found to produce regular X-rays.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026

“We believe these are known and transient headwinds, not long-term structural issues,” Reintjes said.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

Authorities immediately located 45-year-old Patrick Keys, a known transient in the area, and arrested him without incident, Bundy said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

All of that immense mass of flesh and bone and consciousness will disappear by absorption into the earth, without recognition by the transient survivors.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

"Now our findings show the West Coast transients are two distinct groups, split along an east-west divide. They eat different things, hunt in different areas and very rarely spend time with each other."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2025

"I have seen outer coast transients acting strangely around inner coast animals," said McInnes, co-founder of the Oceanic Research Alliance.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2025

The area on the eastern side of downtown Los Angeles whose cheap residential hotels, bars, liquor stores and missions made it a magnet for transients becomes widely known as Skid Row.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025

His mother, known as Miss Lillian, had more liberal views — she was known for her charity work and for taking in transients and treating Black residents with kindness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2024

Time was unorganized except for the communal work, field labor, gardening, woodcutting, maintenance, for which transients such as myself were called on by whatever group most needed a hand.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related Words

• ephemeral
• fleeting
• short-term
• transitory