temporary

Word relationships

• provisional: 'Provisional' carries an emphasis on conditional validity until official details are finalized.
• interim: 'Interim' specifically describes a bridge period between two permanent setups or leadership terms.

• permanent: 'Permanent' means lasting indefinitely without expected change.
• enduring: 'Enduring' highlights long-lasting durability over time.

Commonly confused with

• contemporary: 'Temporary' means short-lived; 'contemporary' means occurring in the same time period or modern.

Word family

• temporarily (adverb): For a limited time only.
• temporize (verb): To delay or stall to gain time.

Collocations

• temporary shelter
• temporary housing
• temporary measure
• temporary solution

Example sentences

• "Engineers constructed a temporary bridge across the river after floodwaters washed away the primary highway span." Disaster management
• "The red cross established temporary shelters while permanent housing solutions were planned for storm survivors." Humanitarian relief ops

Memory hook

TEMP-orary measures are controlled by the TEMP-o of time. Bound by time.

When not to use

Do not use for things designed to last indefinitely or permanently without scheduled removal.

Fun facts

• The word 'tempo' in music and 'temperature' in physics share the exact same Latin root ('tempus', meaning time/season/proportion).

Related words

shelter, billet, displacement

Explore more words

transitory, interim, provisional, transient, impermanent, short-lived