transitory

C2+ Topic:Time
US /ˈtrænsɪtɔri/ UK /ˈtrænzɪt(ə)ri/
adj

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    not permanent; lasting only a brief while

    Fame, he reminded himself, is a transitory and fickle thing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · not permanent; lasting only... transienttemporaryfleetingephemeralpassingmomentaryimpermanentshort-lived
Word family
Derived forms transitorilytransitoriness

Etymology

From Late Latin trānsitōrius ('passing'), from trānsīre ('to go across'), from trāns ('across') + īre ('to go').

View etymology graph ->

Topics

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