provisional

UK: 'provisional', 'Provisional': /prəˈvɪʒ^ənəl/

US: /prəˈvɪʒənəl/

US: (prə vizh′ə nl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

pro•vi•sion•al /prəˈvɪʒənəl/   adj. 

1. serving for the time being only;
   temporary:
   a provisional government.

pro•vi•sion•al•ly, adv. See -vis-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

pro•vi•sion•al  (prə vizh′ə nl), adj. 

1. providing or serving for the time being only; existing only until permanently or properly replaced;
   temporary:
   a provisional government.
2. accepted or adopted tentatively;
   conditional;
   probationary.
3. Government (usually cap.) of or being the wing of the Irish Republican Army that follows a policy of violence.

n. 

4. Stamps [Philately.] a stamp that serves temporarily, pending the appearance of the regular issue, or during a temporary shortage of the regular stamps.
5. a provisional member of a group.
6. Government (usually cap.) a member of the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army.

Also, pro•vi•sion•ar•y  (prə vizh′ə ner′ē) (for defs. 1, 2).

• provision + -al¹ 1595–1605

pro•vi′sion•al′i•ty, pro•vi′sion•al•ness, n. 
pro•vi′sion•al•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

provisional / prəˈvɪʒən^əl/, (less commonly)provisionary / prəˈvɪʒənərɪ/ adjective

1. subject to later alteration; temporary or conditional: a provisional decision

proˈvisionally adverb

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Provisional / prəˈvɪʒən^əl/ adjective

1. of, designating, or relating to the unofficial factions of the IRA and Sinn Féin that became increasingly dominant following a split in 1969. The Provisional movement remained committed to a policy of terrorism until its ceasefires of the mid-1990s

noun

1. Also called: Provo a member of the Provisional IRA or Sinn Féin