Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Lasting for a very short time; not permanent: Describes something that exists or continues for only a brief period.
   • Passing quickly into and out of existence: Describes a feeling, thought, or phenomenon that is fleeting or momentary.

2. Noun:

   • A person who stays or works in a place for only a short time: Often refers to a temporary resident or worker.
   • (Physics) A short-lived disturbance in a system after a sudden change: A brief oscillation or signal that decays over time.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • The transient beauty of cherry blossoms is celebrated in Japanese culture.
  • He felt a transient moment of panic before calming down.
  • The city has a large transient population of seasonal workers.

• Noun:

  • The hotel caters mostly to transients staying for a few nights.
  • In electrical engineering, a voltage transient can damage sensitive equipment.

Advanced Usage

• "Transient global amnesia": A temporary, short-term memory loss of unknown cause.

  • He experienced a brief episode of transient global amnesia after the accident.

• "Transient response": (In engineering) The behavior of a system as it moves from one steady state to another after a change.

  • The engineer analyzed the circuit's transient response to the power surge.

Variants and Related Words

• Transience (n): The state or quality of being transient.

  • The transience of human life is a common theme in poetry.

• Transitory (adj): Similar to transient, meaning lasting only for a short time.

  • His fame was transitory and soon forgotten.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Fleeting, ephemeral, momentary, temporary, brief, short-lived, evanescent, fugacious.
• Noun: Drifter, itinerant, temporary resident, migrant worker.

Related Phrases

• Transient ischemic attack (TIA): A temporary period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke, often called a "mini-stroke."
  • The doctor said his symptoms were caused by a transient ischemic attack.

Idioms

• A transient fancy: A temporary liking or interest.
  • His desire to learn the guitar was just a transient fancy; he gave up after two weeks.

Adjective

1. 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
2. of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind

Noun

1. (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load
2. one who stays for only a short time
   • transient laborers