TRANSIENT

transeunt, transient

(adjective) of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind

ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory, fugacious

(adjective) lasting a very short time; “the ephemeral joys of childhood”; “a passing fancy”; “youth’s transient beauty”; “love is transitory but it is eternal”; “fugacious blossoms”

transient

(noun) (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load

transient

(noun) one who stays for only a short time; “transient laborers”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

transient (comparative more transient, superlative most transient)

Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.

Remaining for only a brief time.

(physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.

(mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.

Occasional; isolated; one-off

Passing through; passing from one person to another.

(music) Intermediate.

(philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.

Synonyms

• (passing): passing, transitory, temporary

• (brief): brief, ephemeral, fleeting, flighty, fugacious

Antonyms

• (passing): permanent

• (brief): permanent, inveterate

• (mathematics): recurrent

• (philosophy): immanent

Noun

transient (plural transients)

Something which is transient.

(physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.

(acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform which occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.

A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; a migrant worker

A homeless person.

Synonyms

• (traveller): itinerant, migrant, traveller

• (homeless person): homeless

Anagrams

• instanter, intranets

Source: Wiktionary


Tran"sient, a. Etym: [L. transiens, -entis, p. pr. of transire, transitum, to go or pass over. See Trance.]

1. Passing before the sight or perception, or, as it were, moving over or across a space or scene viewed, and then disappearing; hence, of short duration; not permanent; not lasting or durable; not stationary; passing; fleeting; brief; transitory; as, transient pleasure. "Measured this transient world." Milton.

2. Hasty; momentary; imperfect; brief; as, a transient view of a landscape.

3. Staying for a short time; not regular or permanent; as, a transient guest; transient boarders. [Colloq. U.S.]

Syn.

– Transient, Transitory, Fleeting. Transient represents a thing as brief at the best; transitory, as liable at any moment to pass away. Fleeting goes further, and represents it as in the act of taking its flight. Life is transient; its joys are transitory; its hours are fleeting. What is loose love A transient gust. Pope If [we love] transitory things, which soon decay, Age must be loveliest at the latest day. Donne. O fleeting joys Of Paradise, dear bought with lasting woes. Milton.

– Tran"sient*ly, adv.

– Tran"sient*ness, n.

Tran"sient, n.

Definition: That which remains but for a brief time. Glanvill.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

14 March 2025

PARASITISM

(noun) the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee starts as a yellow berry, changes into a red berry, and then is picked by hand to harvest. The red berry is de-shelled through a water soaking process and what’s left inside is the green coffee bean. This bean then dries in the sun for 3-5 days, where it is then packed and ready for sale.

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