Meaning & use
transitoriness
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
The state or quality of lasting only a short time; the fact of being temporary.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it is not used with 'a' or in the plural. You can say 'the transitoriness of life', but not 'a transitoriness' or 'transitorinesses'.
Patterns
- the transitoriness of something
The poem reflects on the transitoriness of youth and beauty.
Philosophers have long meditated on the transitoriness of human existence.
She was struck by the transitoriness of the cherry blossoms, which bloom for only a week.
Common combinations
- the transitoriness of life
- The sermon focused on the transitoriness of life and the importance of living well.
- the transitoriness of beauty
- Artists often explore the transitoriness of beauty in their work.
- the transitoriness of human existence
- The novel's theme is the transitoriness of human existence.
- a sense of transitoriness
- Walking through the abandoned village gave him a sense of transitoriness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- impermanence
- Impermanence is more general and often used in philosophical or religious contexts; transitoriness emphasizes the short duration of something.
- ephemerality
- Ephemerality is even more formal and often used for things that last only a very short time, like a mayfly; transitoriness can refer to anything temporary.
- fleetingness
- Fleetingness suggests passing quickly, like a moment; transitoriness focuses on the state of being temporary.
Opposites
Word family
- transitory adjective
- Lasting only a short time; temporary.
- transient adjective
- Lasting only a short time; temporary. Also a noun meaning a person who stays briefly.
- transience noun
- The state of lasting only a short time; the quality of being transient.
Commonly confused: transitoriness or transition? transitoriness or transistor?
transitoriness vs transition
Transition means a change from one state to another, while transitoriness means the quality of being temporary. They sound similar but have different meanings.
transitoriness vs transistor
A transistor is an electronic component; transitoriness is about time. Be careful with spelling.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'transitoriness' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct answer is B because transitoriness refers to the quality of lasting only a short time, and a sunset fading within minutes illustrates that. An and D confuse it with physical size or strength, and C confuses it with length or dimension.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “transitoriness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.