transitional

Also tran·si·tion·ar·y

[tran-zish-uh-nl, ‐-sish‐]

adjective

1. 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

• transitionally adverb
• nontransitional adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transitional¹

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

Example Sentences

The country, which has not held elections since 2016, is now run by a transitional presidential council.

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This “lost novella,” a transitional work between Leonard’s early Western stories and his later novels of cops and crooks, began as an outline for a proposed movie script.

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"Today, I humbly assume the presidency of the republic... in order to install and lead a transitional government," Jeri told parliament after being sworn in.

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Newsom focused on the benefit of state initiatives, including transitional kindergarten, universal free school meals and more funding for before and after school programs and literacy coaches.

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Looking back, one can see that digital video recorders were a transitional technology in the march from over-the-air broadcasting to streaming, which is wiping out the usage of DVRs.

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Related Words

• capricious 
• fickle 
• fluctuating www.thesaurus.com
• mercurial 
• protean 
• shifting www.thesaurus.com
• unpredictable 
• unsettled 
• unstable 
• varying www.thesaurus.com
• volatile