transient

Transient is defined as someone or something that is temporary or staying for a short amount of time.

(adjective)

An example of transient is the short duration of the hurricane season in Florida.

The definition of a transient is someone who is just passing through somewhere or isn't staying long.

(noun)

An example of transient is a honeymoon couple staying at a resort.

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See transient in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

    1. passing away with time; not permanent; temporary; transitory
    2. passing quickly or soon; fleeting; ephemeral
  1. ☆ staying only for a short time: the transient population at resorts

Origin: L transiens, prp. of transire: see transit

noun

  1. ☆ a transient person or thing: transients at a hotel
  2. Elec. a temporary component of a current, resulting from a voltage surge, a change from one steady-state condition to another, etc.

Related Forms:

See transient in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
  1. Passing with time; transitory: “the transient beauty of youth” (Lydia M. Child).
  2. Remaining in a place only a brief time: transient laborers.
  3. Physics Decaying with time, especially as a simple exponential function of time.
noun
  1. One that is transient, especially a hotel guest or boarder who stays for only a brief time.
  2. Physics A transient phenomenon or property, especially a transient electric current.

Origin:

Origin: Alteration of Latin trānsiēns, trānseunt-

Origin: , present participle of trānsīre, to go over

Origin: : trāns-, over; see trans-

Origin: + īre, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • tranˈsi·ent·ly adverb

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