transient

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

/ ˈtræn ʃənt, -ʒənt, -zi ənt /

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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.

Nearby words

Origin of transient

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

SYNONYMS FOR transient

2 fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent. See temporary.

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ANTONYMS FOR transient

2 permanent.

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Related forms

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for transiently

I saw him but transiently, as he passed; but his haggard countenance, and furious gestures, filled me with dismay.
Memoirs of Emma Courtney|Mary Hays
I could manifest myself as palely, as transiently, as a thought.
Famous Modern Ghost Stories|Various
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
But once—that transiently—yet sufficient to convince me that she is charming.
A Bold Stroke for a Husband|Hannah Cowley

From the days of remotest history, and our world over, spirits have often been transiently visible and palpable by some mortals.
Witchcraft of New England Explained by Modern Spiritualism|Allen Putnam

British Dictionary definitions for transiently

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 Formstransiently, 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

Word Origin and History for transiently

transient

adj.

c.1600, from Latin transiens (accusative transientem) "passing over or away," present participle of transire "cross over, pass away," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + ire "to go" (see ion). The noun is first attested 1650s; specific sense of "transient guest or boarder" first recorded 1880.