transient [tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for transient 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.
Origin of transient 1590–1600; Latin transi(ēns) (nominative singular), present participle of transīre to pass by, literally, go across + -ent; see transeunt Related formstran·sient·ly, adverbtran·sient·ness, nounnon·tran·sient, adjectivenon·tran·sient·ly, adverbnon·tran·sient·ness, nounun·tran·sient, adjectiveun·tran·sient·ly, adverbun·tran·sient·ness, nounSynonyms for transient See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 2. fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent. See temporary.Antonyms for transient 2. permanent. Related Words for transient ephemeral, fleeting, transitory, short-term, flash, temporal, flying, brief, fugitive, short, volatile, passing, fly-by-night, changeable, evanescent, flitting, impermanent, insubstantial, momentary, moving Examples from the Web for transient Contemporary Examples of transient
HPV is so transient because no form of safe sex is fool proof.
Emily Shire
August 29, 2014
Because my upbringing was so transient, New York ended up being my home.
Meet the Red Viper: Pedro Pascal on Game of Thrones’ Kinky, Bisexual Hellraiser
Marlow Stern
March 26, 2014
Presidential power is surprisingly personal, contingent, and transient, not just institutional and consistent.
Obama and Syria: Fighting the Wimp Factor
Gil Troy
September 18, 2013
Los Angeles police have described Campbell as a transient who has lived in the city for only a short period.
The Venice Beach Menace’s Troubled Past
Christine Pelisek, Barbie Latza Nadeau
August 6, 2013
In this case “transient” is attached, because most patients with this disorder make a full recovery after a period of time.
Transient Global Amnesia: What Total Memory Loss Is Like
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD
July 28, 2013
Historical Examples of transient
Calmness is imperative: to be as motionless as transient beings can.
Emile Faguet
They got exactly what the transient may expect in any country.
Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
The lines of camp-fires begin to gleam from the transient Bedouin villages.
Henry Van Dyke
“I will not make the most of it, Mr. Eld,” the old man said, with a transient smile.
David Christie Murray
The emotion of grief is real with them, I believe, but transient.
Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled
Hudson Stuck
British Dictionary definitions for transient transient 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, nounWord Origin for transient C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go Word Origin and History for 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.