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temporal¹ Definition

tem·po·ral (tem′pə rəl, -prəl)

adjective

  1. lasting only for a time; transitory; temporary, not eternal
  2. of this world; worldly, not spiritual
  3. civil or secular rather than ecclesiastical
  4. of or limited by time
  5. Gram. expressing distinctions in time; pertaining to tense

Etymology: ME < L temporalis < tempus, time: see temper

noun

a temporal thing, power, etc.

temporal¹ Related Forms
tem′·po·rally adverb
temporal² Definition

tem·po·ral (tem′pə rəl, -prəl)

adjective

of or near the temple or temples (of the head)

Etymology: LL temporalis < L tempora: see temple

temporal Synonyms

temporal

modif.

  1. Transitory

    temporary, transient, ephemeral; see temporary.

  2. Worldly

    secular, earthly, mundane; see worldly 1, 2, materialistic.

temporal Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • lobe: Most complex partial attacks start in the temporal lobe.
  • epilepsy: I do not have any symptoms of schizophrenia or temporal lobe epilepsy.
  • arteritis: Does anyone on here suffer from either temporal arteritis or vitreous detachment with torn retina?
  • gyrus: All four types of stimuli activated the superior temporal gyrus.
  • logic: Thus temporal logic is higher level than Z for specifying concurrency.
  • variability: Also, the net is very tolerant of temporal variability in the signal.

Modifying Another Word

  • purely: Just as agency is a process and certainly not a possession exclusive to human forms, neither is it purely temporal.
  • only: Her starting point: 'The future is the only temporal area over which people have power' .
  • not: The relationship between cause and effect is treated as logical, not temporal.
  • thus: Thus temporal logic is higher level than Z for specifying concurrency.
  • very: The time constants and relative weightings yielded temporal window functions that heavily emphasize information occurring within the very temporal center of the window.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Another way of looking at it is concerns situations in which time is spatial, or when space becomes only temporal.