TEMPORARY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does temporary mean? 

• TEMPORARY (noun)
  The noun TEMPORARY has 1 sense:

1. a worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis

  Familiarity information: TEMPORARY used as a noun is very rare.

• TEMPORARY (adjective)
  The adjective TEMPORARY has 2 senses:

1. not permanent; not lasting

2. lacking continuity or regularity

  Familiarity information: TEMPORARY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TEMPORARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

temp; temporary; temporary worker

Hypernyms ("temporary" is a kind of...):

worker (a person who works at a specific occupation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "temporary"):

hobo; migrant worker (a worker who moves around and works temporarily in different places)

• TEMPORARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not permanent; not lasting

Synonyms:

impermanent; temporary

Context example:

temporary housing

Similar:

fly-by-night (ephemeral)

working (adopted as a temporary basis for further work)

terminable (capable of being terminated after a designated time)

temporal (not eternal)

shipboard (casual or ephemeral as if taking place on board a ship)

pro tem; pro tempore (for the time being)

interim (serving during an intermediate interval of time)

improvised; jury-rigged; makeshift (done or made using whatever is available)

evanescent (tending to vanish like vapor)

episodic (limited in duration to a single episode)

ephemeral; fugacious; passing; short-lived; transient; transitory (lasting a very short time)

acting (serving temporarily especially as a substitute)

Also:

unstable (lacking stability or fixity or firmness)

Attribute:

permanence; permanency (the property of being able to exist for an indefinite duration)

Derivation:

temporariness (the property of lasting only a short time)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lacking continuity or regularity

Synonyms:

irregular; temporary

Context example:

employed on a temporary basis

Similar:

part-time; part time (involving less than the standard or customary time for an activity)

Derivation:

temporariness (the property of lasting only a short time)

 Context examples 

Some types are temporary, but many worsen over time.

(Autonomic Nervous System Disorders, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

It's only a temporary arrangement, you know.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It is usually temporary but it may recur.

(Facial Nerve Paralysis, NCI Thesaurus)

Free Radical Binding involves temporary interaction with chemically unstable and highly reactive molecules (free radicals) having an unsatisfied electron valence pair.

(Free Radical Binding, NCI Thesaurus)

The loss may be temporary or permanent, and may involve old or recent memories.

(Amnesia, NCI Thesaurus)

Although most changes that occur during pregnancy are temporary, these changes are known to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the general population.

(Pregnancy losses and large numbers of children linked with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, University of Cambridge)

You might have to delay a vacation or put off buying something expensive for now, but this is temporary, and eventually, you can put that wish back on your list.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This debris resulted in significant temporary changes to the planet's upper atmosphere and possible longer-term perturbations.

(Mars Spacecraft Reveal Comet Flyby Effects on Martian Atmosphere, NASA)

Hearing problems can be temporary or permanent.

(Hearing Problems in Children, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

And some may have temporary behavior problems due to stress.

(Child Behavior Disorders, NIH)