transient.

1. Lasting only a short time or passing rather than remaining.

2. A person staying temporarily in a place.

3. A short-lived electrical change or disturbance during a transition.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• transient effect
• transient light

On the page

A transient light crossed the wall and vanished.

The effect proved transient despite the alarming first readings.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more transient; superlative most transient where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.