transient

English

Etymology

From stem of Latin transiens, present participle of transire (“to go over, to pass”)

Adjective

transient (comparative more transient, superlative most transient)

1. Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.
2. Remaining for only a brief time.
3. (physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
4. (mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
5. Occasional; isolated; one-off; individual.
6. Passing through; passing from one person to another.
7. (philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.

Synonyms

• (1) passing: passing, transitory, temporary
• (2) brief: brief, ephemeral, fleeting, flighty, fugacious

Antonyms

• (1) passing: permanent
• (2) brief: permanent
• (4) math: recurrent
• (7) philosophy: immanent

Derived terms

• transience
• transiently
• transientness

Translations

Passing or disappearing with time; transitory

Dutch: vergankelijk (nl), eindig (nl) Finnish: ohimenevä (fi), katoava (fi), katoavainen (fi), häipyvä (fi) French: passager (fr), provisoire (fr), transitoire (fr), temporaire (fr) German: vergänglich (de) Italian: transitorio (it) m.

Portuguese: transitório (pt) Romanian: trecător (ro), efemer (ro), tranzient (ro), tranzitoriu (ro) Russian: кратковременный (ru), мимолётный (ru), недолговечный (ru), преходящий (ru), скоротечный (ru) Spanish: transitorio (es)

Remaining for only a brief time

Finnish: lyhytaikainen (fi), hetkellinen (fi)

French: bref (fr), éphémère (fr), fugace (fr)

Decaying with time, especially exponentially

German: kurzlebig (de)

math: having positive probability of being left

German: transient (de)

Hebrew: חולף (he) (choléf)

Occasional; isolated; one-off; individual

Russian: случайный (ru), отдельный (ru)

Passing through; passing from one person to another

Operating beyond itself; having an external effect

Noun

transient (plural transients)

1. Something which is transient.
2. (physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
3. (acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform which occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
4. A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; 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.

5. An unhoused person

Synonyms

• (4) traveller: itinerant, migrant, traveller
• (5) homeless: homeless

Something transient

physics

acoustics

traveller

French: itinérant (fr)

Spanish: trotamundo (es), transeunte (es), transeunte (es)

homeless

French: clochard (fr), clodo (fr), sans-abri (fr), SDF (fr)

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