Word.ws English Dictionary

transitory

UK/ˈtɹæn.zɪ.t(ə)ɹɪ//ˈtɹæn.zɪˌtɔɹ.i/

transitory adjective: lasting only a short time; temporary.

transitory: Hourglass and coffee symbolize the passage of time
Photo by Callum Mullin on Unsplash

Adjective

transitory (comparative more transitory, superlative most transitory)

  1. Lasting only a short time; temporary.
    • Secondly, That the Materials being very tranſitory, have ſuffered much from Inclemencies of Air, eſpecially in theſe North-Weſt Regions.1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section I. The Introduction.”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 34
    • Quite unconscious of the demonstrations of their amorous neighbour, or their effects upon the susceptible bosom of her mama, Kate Nickleby had, by this time begun to enjoy a settled feeling of tranquillity and happiness, to which, even in occasional and transitory glimpses, she had long been a...1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, “Comprises certain Particulars arising out of a Visit of Condolence, which may prove important hereafter. Smike unexpectedly encounters a very old Friend...
  2. Of an action: that may be brought in any county
    • in transitory actions, for injuries that might have happened anywhere1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC
    Antonyms:
    local

transitory meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

transitory in Tamil

தோன்றி மறையும், கொஞ்ச காலமே நிலைக்கும், நிலையற்ற, மாறுதல் அடையும், இடைநிலை அமைப்பு

transitory in Urdu

چند روزہ, عبوری

transitory in Malayalam

temporary, brief, transient
ക്ഷണികമായ, അനിത്യമായ, ക്ഷണ, പെട്ടെന്നു കടന്നുപോകുന്ന, താൽക്കാലികമായ, ക്ഷണഭംഗുരമായ

transitory in Kannada

ಕ್ಷಣಿಕ, ತಾತ್ಕಾಲಿಕ, ಕಿರುಹೊತ್ತಿನ
More languagesFewer languages
transitory in Sanskrit
उल्लापन ullāpana

Synonyms of transitory

13 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of transitory

Forms of transitory

comparativemore transitory
superlativemost transitory

Origin of transitory

From Middle French transitoire, from Old French, from Latin trānsitōrius.

Words formed from transitory

Questions about transitory

What does transitory mean?
Transitory means lasting only a short time; temporary.
What is transitory in Tamil?
Transitory in Tamil is தோன்றி மறையும், கொஞ்ச காலமே நிலைக்கும், நிலையற்ற. See Transitory meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is transitory?
Transitory is an adjective.
How do you pronounce transitory?
Transitory is pronounced /ˈtɹæn.zɪ.t(ə)ɹɪ/ (UK).

Words near transitory in the dictionary

  1. transitologist
  2. transitologists
  3. transitology
  4. transitorily
  5. transitoriness
  6. transitory
  7. transits
  8. transitted
  9. transitting
  10. transitude
  11. Transitus

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: transitory (page history and authors); transitory (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); transitory (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); transitory (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); transitory (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); उल्लापन (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “transitory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/transitory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.