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.

---

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

---

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

Decisionmakers—including the Supreme Court and even transient majorities—can get things wrong, until we set them right, or at least make them more perfect.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

Bubbling but likely transient worries about cheaper Chinese AI models haven’t helped, either.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 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

"Many of the affected areas are mining towns with highly mobile and transient populations. This mobility increases risk as people move between communities and across borders," says Lang.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

Bessie asked if I would have a book: the word book acted as a transient stimulus, and I begged her to fetch Gulliver’s Travels from the library.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Meanwhile, he said the abandoned lot next door remains unsecured and swamped with trash from transients who frequent the site.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

While he’s trying to rebuild, he’s had to fend off transients who trespass onto his property on a regular basis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

"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

Outer coast transients, numbering about 210 animals, were most often found within 20 kilometers of the continental shelf break, particularly near submarine canyons.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2025

Permanent transients with no attachments and tired looking men with their families and dogs in flivvers.

From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

Related Words

• ephemeral
• fleeting
• short-term
• transitory