transient

UK: /ˈtrænziənt/

US: /ˈtrænʃənt, -ʒənt, -ziənt/

US: (tran′shənt, -zhənt, -zē ənt)

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

tran•sient /ˈtrænʃənt, -ʒənt, -ziənt/   adj. 

1. not lasting;
   not permanent;
   transitory:
   a transient illness.
2. staying only a short time and passing through:
   transient guests at a hotel.

n. [countable]

3. a person or thing that is transient:
   Transients for Flight 806 will wait in Concourse C.
4. Electricity a sudden pulse of voltage or current.

tran•sience, tran•sien•cy, n. [uncountable]
tran•sient•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tran•sient  (tran′shənt, -zhənt, -zē ənt), adj. 

1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent;
   transitory.
2. lasting only a short time;
   existing briefly;
   temporary:
   transient authority.
3. staying only a short time:
   the transient guests at a hotel.
4. [Philos.] transeunt.

n. 

5. a person or thing that is transient, esp. a temporary guest, boarder, laborer, or the like.
6. [Math.]
   • a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.
   • a solution, esp. of a differential equation, having this property.
7. [Physics.]
   • a nonperiodic signal of short duration.
   • a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.
8. Electricity a sudden pulse of voltage or current.

• Latin transi(ēns) (nominative singular), present participle of transīre to pass by, literally, go across + -ent; see transeunt
• 1590–1600

tran ′sient•ly, adv. 
tran ′sient•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 2. fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent. See temporary.

Antonyms

• 2. permanent.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

transient / ˈtrænzɪənt/ adjective

1. for a short time only; temporary or transitory

noun

1. a transient person or thing

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go

ˈtransience, ˈtransiency noun

ˈtransiently adverb