transient
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From stem of Latin transiens, present participle of transire (“to go over, to pass”)
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
transient (comparative more transient, superlative most transient)
- Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.
- a transient pleasure
- 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- this transient world
- Remaining for only a brief time.
- a transient view of a landscape
- a transient disease
- 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 3, page 27:
- Taking advantage of the surprise, which assured him at least transient attention, he continued, addressing himself particularly to Evelyn.
- (physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
- (mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
- Occasional; isolated; one-off
- Passing through; passing from one person to another.
- (music) Intermediate.
- (philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.
SynonymsEdit
AntonymsEdit
- (passing): permanent
- (brief): permanent, inveterate
- (mathematics): recurrent
- (philosophy): immanent
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
passing or disappearing with time; transitory
remaining for only a brief time
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Decaying with time, especially exponentially
mathematics: having positive probability of being left
occasional; isolated; one-off; individual
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passing through; passing from one person to another
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NounEdit
transient (plural transients)
- Something that is transient.
- (physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
- (acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform that occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
- 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.
- 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, Virago Press, paperback edition, page 3
- A homeless person.
- (programming, historical) A module that generally remains in memory only for a short time.
- 1978, Computerworld (volume 12, number 25, page 26)
- The overhead in loading transients is a big time-waster.
- 1990, Gary A. Stotts, DOS/VSE: Introduction to the Operating System (page 102)
- These areas function to single thread supervisor routines that are loaded as needed. The Logical Transient Area (LTA) processes $$B transients.
- 1978, Computerworld (volume 12, number 25, page 26)
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
something transient
physics
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acoustics
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traveller
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homeless