temporary

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temporary

/ˈtɛm.pə.ɹə.ɹi/ UK
/ˈtɛm.pə.ɹi/ UK
/ˈtɛm.pəˌɹɛɹ.i/ US
/ˈtɛm.pə.ɹi/ US
/ˈtem.pə.ɹə.ɹi/ Australia, New Zealand
/ˈtem.pə.ɹi/ Australia, New Zealand

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin temporarius, from tempus (“time”).

adjective more temporary · most temporary · tempory

Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time. Sally was put in temporary charge of the department while they searched for a full-time replacement.
Similar: temporal, impermanent · Opposite: eternal, unending, neverending
Existing only for a short time or short times.
Similar: transient, ephemeral, earthly, brief, deciduous, evanescent, fleeting, flying, fugacious, fugitive, instant, momentary

Similar: temporaneous

noun temporaries · tempory

One serving for a limited time; a short-term employee, especially in an office.
Similar: floater, temp
A short-term variable used to store an intermediate result.
Similar: temp

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: transitory, transient, ephemeral, short-lived, passing, impermanent, fugacious, interim, episodic, terminable, temporal, working, makeshift, jury-rigged, visiting, irregular

adjective

Similar: temporaneous

Translations

Every language

adj for a limited time, ephemeral, not constant

Español	temporario, temporáneo, temporero
한국어	일시적인 ilsijeog-in
日本語	暫くの shibaraku no, 暫時の zanji no, 一時的な ichijiteki na
中文	暫時 /暂时 zànshí, zhànshí, zǎnshí
हिन्दी	अस्थायी asthāyī
Português	temporário
Français	temporaire, provisoire
Deutsch	zeitweilig, temporär, vorübergehend
Italiano	temporaneo
Ελληνικά	προσωρινός prosorinós
Română	temporar
Русский	вре́менный vrémennyj
Tiếng Việt	tạm thời, lâm thời
العربية	مُؤَقَّت muʔaqqat

noun short-term employee

Español	temporero, temporal
中文	臨時工 /临时工 línshígōng, 臨時雇員 /临时雇员 línshí gùyuán
Français	intérimaire
Deutsch	Zeitarbeitskraft
Română	interimat
Русский	вре́менный рабо́тник vrémennyj rabótnik, вре́менный сотру́дник vrémennyj sotrúdnik, вре́менная рабо́тница vrémennaja rabótnica, вре́менная сотру́дница vrémennaja sotrúdnica

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MLA

"temporary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/temporary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

temporary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/temporary

Chicago

"temporary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/temporary.

BibTeX

@misc{temporary_2026,
  title = {temporary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/temporary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}