transitory.

Lasting only a short time rather than continuing or remaining.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• transitory pleasure
• transitory phase

On the page

The grant offered transitory relief, not a solution to the funding gap.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more transitory; superlative most transitory when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.