transient

Intermediatezipf 3.37

Pronunciation

/ˈtrænziənt/(TRAN-zee-unt)

Part of speech

adjective / nounformal

Chinese

短暂的；临时的；过客

Definition

(adj) Lasting only a short time; passing through without staying. (n) A person staying only briefly.

Word family

  • transience/ˈtrænziəns/(n)短暂
  • transiently/ˈtrænziəntli/(adv)

Collocations

  • transient nature
  • transient population
  • transient effect
  • transient visitor

Examples

  1. 1.The pain was transient and disappeared within minutes. (short-lived)
  2. 2.The city has a large transient population of seasonal workers. (temporary residents)

Synonyms

  • temporary/ˈtɛmpərəri/— not permanent, general
  • fleeting/ˈfliːtɪŋ/— passing quickly
  • ephemeral/ɪˈfɛmərəl/— very brief, literary

Etymology

from Latin "transire" = to go across — trans (across) + ire (to go) — passing across, not staying