Transient
WordNet
adjective
(1) Of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind
(2) Lasting a very short time
"The ephemeral joys of childhood"
"A passing fancy"
"Youth's transient beauty"
"Love is transitory but at is eternal"
"Fugacious blossoms"
noun
(3) (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load
(4) One who stays for only a short time
"Transient laborers"
WiktionaryText
Adjective
- Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.
- Remaining for only a brief time.
- Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
- Occasional; isolated; one-off; individual.
- Passing through; passing from one person to another.
- Operating beyond itself; having an external effect (antonym: immanent).
Noun
- Something which is transient.
- A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
- 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
- An unhoused person
Quotations
a migrant worker
- 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, Virago Press, paperback edition, page 3
- Then, within the space of a few months, there were more transients than there were locals, and the imbalance seemed morally wrong.