transitional

American  

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

Also transitionary

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.

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Other Word Forms

• nontransitional
  adjective
• transitionally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of transitional

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

Explanation

Sometimes people who have been laid off from their old jobs and haven’t been able to find new ones say they are in a transitional period. In other words, they are in the middle of a change. The adjective transitional relates to things such as governments, office spaces, or aspects of one’s life that are in the process of changing. This is a temporary state, until a permanent solution is established, and the word is often used with a sense of hope. For example, when someone goes through a romantic breakup and is hoping to find someone new, she might also say she is in a transitional phase. A synonym for transitional is interim.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transitional

Lower occupancy at transitional care facilities in Singapore weighed on the company’s 1H healthcare services segment’s revenue, which fell around 16% from a year earlier and came as an unpleasant surprise to the analyst.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

It’s a period piece, about a transitional period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

He said under his amendment, the government could reduce the cap following a transitional period ending in 2029.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom extolled free school meals, universal transitional kindergarten and other accomplishments in his tenure in California, a period marked by over $100 billion in increased spending.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

“Good. Now look over here at the transitional elements.”

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• capricious
• fickle
• fluctuating
• mercurial
• protean
• shifting
• unpredictable
• unsettled
• unstable
• varying
• volatile