From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Transient \Tran"sient\, a. [L. transiens, -entis, p. pr. of
transire, transitum, to go or pass over. See {Trance}.]
1. Passing before the sight or perception, or, as it were,
moving over or across a space or scene viewed, and then
disappearing; hence, of short duration; not permanent; not
lasting or durable; not stationary; passing; fleeting;
brief; transitory; as, transient pleasure. "Measured this
transient world." --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hasty; momentary; imperfect; brief; as, a transient view
of a landscape.
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3. Staying for a short time; not regular or permanent; as, a
transient guest; transient boarders. [Colloq. U. S.]
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Syn: {Transient}, {Transitory}, {Fleeting}.
Usage: Transient represents a thing as brief at the best;
transitory, as liable at any moment to pass away.
Fleeting goes further, and represents it as in the act
of taking its flight. Life is transient; its joys are
transitory; its hours are fleeting.
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What is loose love? A transient gust. --Pope
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If [we love] transitory things, which soon
decay,
Age must be loveliest at the latest day.
--Donne.
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O fleeting joys
Of Paradise, dear bought with lasting woes.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster] -- {Tran"sient*ly}, adv. --
{Tran"sient*ness}, n.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Transient \Tran"sient\, n.
That which remains but for a brief time. --Glanvill.
[1913 Webster] Transilience
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
transient
adj 1: of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind [syn:
{transeunt}, {transient}] [ant: {immanent}, {subjective}]
2: lasting a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of childhood";
"a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is
transitory but it is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms" [syn:
{ephemeral}, {passing}, {short-lived}, {transient},
{transitory}, {fugacious}]
n 1: one who stays for only a short time; "transient laborers"
2: (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a
sudden change of voltage or current or load
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