transient

I. adjective Etymology: Latin transeunt-, transiens, present participle of transire to cross, pass by, from trans- + ire to go — more at issue Date: 1599 1. a. passing especially quickly into and out of existence ; transitory <

transient beauty

> b. passing through or by a place with only a brief stay or sojourn <

transient visitors

> 2. affecting something or producing results beyond itself • transiently adverb Synonyms: transient, transitory, ephemeral, momentary, fugitive, fleeting, evanescent mean lasting or staying only a short time. transient applies to what is actually short in its duration or stay <

a hotel catering primarily to transient guests

>. transitory applies to what is by its nature or essence bound to change, pass, or come to an end <

fame in the movies is transitory

>. ephemeral implies striking brevity of life or duration <

many slang words are ephemeral

>. momentary suggests coming and going quickly and therefore being merely a brief interruption of a more enduring state <

my feelings of guilt were only momentary

>. fugitive and fleeting imply passing so quickly as to make apprehending difficult <

let a fugitive smile flit across his face

> <

fleeting moments of joy

>. evanescent suggests a quick vanishing and an airy or fragile quality <

the story has an evanescent touch of whimsy that is lost in translation

>. II. noun Date: 1652 1. one that is transient: as a. a transient guest b. a person traveling about usually in search of work 2. a. a temporary oscillation that occurs in a circuit because of a sudden change of voltage or of load b. a transient current or voltage