transient
- 01 C1 Advanced
adj.lasting for only a very short time before disappearing.
adj.passing or disappearing with time; transitory or ephemeral in nature.
Simple“The city is famous for its transient population of students and tourists.”
In context“The beauty of the cherry blossoms is famously transient, lasting only a few days before the petals are scattered by the wind.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
adj.describing a state or current that changes quickly before reaching a steady level.
adj.relating to a state or variable that is changing, typically decaying exponentially, before reaching equilibrium.
Simple“The engineer measured the transient voltage when the machine first started.”
In context“The system experienced a transient oscillation immediately following the power surge, but it stabilized within milliseconds.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a person who stays in a place for only a short time, like a traveler or worker.
n.a person who passes through a place for a brief duration, such as a migrant worker or a temporary resident.
Simple“The small town had many transients who came to work during the harvest.”
In context“The local shelter provides beds for transients who are moving between cities in search of seasonal employment.”
Antonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
n.a very quick, loud sound or a sudden burst of electricity.
n.a brief, high-amplitude signal or surge, such as the initial attack of a drum hit or a momentary electrical spike.
Simple“The music producer used a special tool to control the transients of the snare drum.”
In context“The circuit breaker was designed to handle minor transients without cutting off power to the entire building.”
“But, at the same time, Premier League shirts have become something almost transient, eye-wateringly expensive yet relevant for a vanishingly small amount of time.”
“There is a category of events called extragalactic fast X-ray transients (EFXTs): brief flashes of X-rays lasting minutes to hours whose origins are still poorly understood.”
From Late Latin transiēnt- (for classical transeunt-), stem of transiēns, present participle of trānsīre (“to go over, to pass”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.