Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Temporary, provisional; intended to last or serve for a limited time until something more permanent is established. It describes something that fills a gap or serves during an intervening period.

2. Noun:

   • An intervening time; the time between one event, process, or period and another. It refers to the interval itself.

Usage and Examples

• As an Adjective:

  • The board appointed an interim CEO while they searched for a permanent replacement.
  • An interim report was published with the preliminary findings.
  • They reached an interim agreement to cease hostilities.

• As a Noun:

  • In the interim, please direct all questions to the assistant manager.
  • She will oversee the department in the interim between directors.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "In the interim": This is a common prepositional phrase meaning "in the meantime" or "during the intervening period."
  • The main bridge is closed for repairs. In the interim, a temporary ferry service will operate.

Variants and Related Words

• Interimly (adverb, rare): In an interim manner; temporarily.
• Interregnum (noun): A period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes. This is a more specific and formal synonym for the noun sense of "interim."

Synonyms

• Adjective: Provisional, temporary, stopgap, acting, caretaker, makeshift.
• Noun: Interval, interlude, meantime, meanwhile, interregnum.

Antonyms

• Adjective: Permanent, final, lasting, definitive.
• Noun: Continuation, permanence.

Notes on Meaning

• The word emphasizes the transitional, provisional nature of something. An interim solution is not meant to be final.
• As a noun, it is most frequently used in the phrase "in the interim."

Adjective

1. serving during an intermediate interval of time
   • an interim agreement

Noun

1. the time between one event, process, or period and another
   • meanwhile the socialists are running the government