temporary

UK: /ˈtɛmp^ərəri/ US: /ˈtɛmpəˌrɛri/ ,(tem′pə rer′ē)

Inflections of 'temporary' (n): npl: temporaries

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

tem•po•rar•y /ˈtɛmpəˌrɛri/   adj., n., pl. -rar•ies. 
adj. 

1. lasting or effective for a time only; not permanent:
   The new bill will create 75,000 temporary jobs.

n. [countable]

2. Business an office worker hired for a short period of time and paid on a daily basis.

tem•po•rar•i•ly /ˌtɛmpəˈrɛrəli/  adv.:

Work with us temporarily and see if you'd like to stay.

tem•po•rar•i•ness, n. [uncountable] See -temp-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tem•po•rar•y  (tem′pə rer′ē), adj., n., pl. -rar•ies. 
adj. 

1. Business lasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent:
   a temporary need; a temporary job.

n. 

2. Business an office worker hired, usually through an agency on a per diem basis, for a short period of time.

• Latin temporārius, equivalent. to tempor- (stem of tempus) time + -ārius -ary
• 1540–50

tem•po•rar•i•ly  (tem′pə râr′ə lē, tem′pə rer′-), adv.  tem′po•rar′i•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. impermanent, passing.
  Temporary, transient, transitory agree in referring to that which is not lasting or permanent.
  Temporary implies an arrangement established with no thought of continuance but with the idea of being changed soon:
  a temporary structure.
  Transient describes that which is in the process of passing by, and which will therefore last or stay only a short time:
  a transient condition.
  Transitory describes an innate characteristic by which a thing, by its very nature, lasts only a short time:
  Life is transitory.

Antonyms

• 1. permanent.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

temporary / ˈtɛmpərərɪ ˈtɛmprərɪ/ adjective

1. not permanent; provisional
2. lasting only a short time; transitory

noun ( -raries)

1. a person, esp a secretary or other office worker, employed on a temporary basis

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin temporārius, from tempus time

ˈtemporarily adverb

ˈtemporariness noun