transitional

American

[tran-zish-uh-nl, ‐-sish‐] / trænˈzɪʃ ə nl, ‐ˈsɪʃ‐ /

Also transitionary

adjective

of or relating to a transition from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another: transitional housing for people with serious mental illness.

transitional governments;
transitional housing for people with serious mental illness.

Other Word Forms

nontransitional adjective
transitionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of transitional

First recorded in 1670–80; transition ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The transitional government hasn’t paid public employees’ salaries for most of the last two years.

From Salon

Some worry that audiences will no longer be able to distinguish the human from the artificial—a real anxiety, but a transitional one.

From The Wall Street Journal

Deutsche Bank’s automotive team calls 2026 another “transitional year” for the car industry, as production will continue to become more localized.

From Barron's

That transitional period makes for a player that doesn't give as much as he would like to.

From BBC

Asteroids and comets are remnants of that transitional phase, planetesimals that never developed into full-size planets.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023