temporary

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Meant to last or be used for only a short time, and then be replaced or ended.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a temporary job; the repair is temporary.

   Patterns

   • a temporary measure
   • only temporary

   She took a temporary job at the post office over the holidays.

   The bridge is closed for temporary repairs.

   This arrangement is temporary until we find a bigger office.

2. 2adjectivenot comparable

   Lasting only for a short period, even if no one planned it that way.

   Grammar: Describes feelings or effects that pass: a temporary loss of memory.

   Patterns

   • temporary relief from something

   The medicine gave only temporary relief from the pain.

   He suffered a temporary loss of hearing after the concert.

   The fall in prices was temporary.

Common combinations

temporary job

He found a temporary job at a garden center.

temporary solution

Tape is only a temporary solution for the leak.

temporary basis

She was hired on a temporary basis.

temporary setback

The delay was just a temporary setback.

temporary shelter

The school served as temporary shelter after the flood.

temporary ban

The city announced a temporary ban on fires.

Synonyms and how they differ

provisional

Provisional means arranged for now but likely to change after review, and it sounds more official than temporary.

interim

Interim describes something that fills the gap between two events or people, such as an interim manager.

short-term

Short-term focuses on the length of time and is common in business, while temporary stresses that it will end.

fleeting

Fleeting describes something that passes very quickly, which is shorter and more poetic than temporary.

Opposites

Word family

temporarily adverb

for a limited time only

temporariness noun

the state of lasting only a short time

temp noun

an informal word for a temporary worker

Commonly confused: temporary or temporal?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “temporary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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