transient

[ tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt ]

/ ˈtræn ʃənt, -ʒənt, -zi ənt /

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See synonyms for: transient / transients on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.

lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.

staying only a short time: the transient guests at a hotel.

Philosophy. transeunt.

noun

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

Mathematics.

a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.
a solution, especially of a differential equation, having this property.

Physics.

a nonperiodic signal of short duration.
a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.

Electricity. a sudden pulse of voltage or current.

OTHER WORDS FOR transient

2 fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent.

See synonyms for transient on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR transient

2 permanent.

See antonyms for transient on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of transient

1590–1600; from Latin transi(ēns) (nominative singular), present participle of transīre “to pass by,” literally, “go across” + -ent; see transeunt

synonym study for transient

2. See temporary.

OTHER WORDS FROM transient

tran·sient·ly, adverbtran·sient·ness, nounnon·tran·sient, adjectivenon·tran·sient·ly, adverb

non·tran·sient·ness, nounun·tran·sient, adjectiveun·tran·sient·ly, adverbun·tran·sient·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use transient in a sentence

Connectomes are often considered transient “cognitive maps” that underlie how we think and act.
How Does Social Interaction Change Our Brains? Hyperscans Can Show Us|Shelly Fan|December 8, 2020|Singularity Hub
In addition, expanding short-term rentals not only increases access, but also increases financial resilience through increases in transient occupancy taxes revenue.
Cities Are Falling Short on Coastal Access – and Short-Term Rentals Could Help|Philip King and Sarah Jenkins|November 16, 2020|Voice of San Diego
That held true even for food, which is a material many of us think of as transient.
Reusable grocery bags aren’t as environmentally friendly as you might think|Kat Eschner|October 28, 2020|Popular-Science
Besides, encounters with others on the road or trail are often transient.
What You Need to Know About Wearing a Face Mask Outside|Joe Lindsey|September 30, 2020|Outside Online

At atmospheric pressure, under which the new experiment took place, supercooled water would retain some traces of that behavior, resulting in small-scale, transient arrangements of molecules in high-density and low-density formations.
A stop-motion experiment reveals supercooled water’s dual nature|Emily Conover|September 28, 2020|Science News
He who read through her lustrous, transiently dwelling eyes had not that security.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete|George Meredith
The Count Lynar of this adventure, who had well-nigh done such a feat in Diplomacy, may turn up transiently again.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XII. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
And a State can only require respect for its laws from such aliens as are permanently or transiently within its territory.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume I (of 2)|Lassa Francis Oppenheim
Though she affected indifference, Lanyard saw her slender body transiently shaken by a shudder, it might have been of dread.
Red Masquerade|Louis Joseph Vance
Here a beam of the sun, long withheld, glanced through the clouds and transiently warmed "the marrying mamma."
The Son of Clemenceau|Alexandre (fils) Dumas

British Dictionary definitions for transient

transient

/ (ˈtrænzɪənt) /

adjective

for a short time only; temporary or transitory

philosophy a variant of transeunt

noun

a transient person or thing

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

Derived forms of transient

transiently, adverbtransience or transiency, noun

Word Origin for transient

C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go

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

transient

OTHER WORDS FOR transient

OPPOSITES FOR transient

Origin of transient

synonym study for transient

OTHER WORDS FROM transient

Words related to transient

How to use transient in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for transient

Derived forms of transient

Word Origin for transient