Synonyms: impermanent
Definition: existing or enduring for a limited time only
Similar words: finite
Definition: bounded or limited in magnitude or spatial or temporal extent
Synonyms: impermanent, temporary
Definition: not permanent; not lasting
Usage: politics is an impermanent factor of life- James Thurber; impermanent palm cottages; a temperary arrangement; temporary housing
Similar words: acting
Definition: serving temporarily especially as a substitute
Usage: the acting president
Similar words: transient, transitory, fugacious, ephemeral, short-lived, passing
Definition: lasting a very short time
Usage: the ephemeral joys of childhood; a passing fancy; youth's transient beauty; love is transitory but it is eternal; fugacious blossoms
Similar words: episodic
Definition: limited in duration to a single episode
Usage: an account concerned primarily with episodic events such as the succession of rulers
Similar words: evanescent
Definition: tending to vanish like vapor
Usage: evanescent beauty
Similar words: fly-by-night
Definition: ephemeral
Usage: the symphony is no fly-by-night venture
Similar words: improvised, makeshift, jury-rigged
Definition: done or made using whatever is available
Usage: crossed the river on improvised bridges; the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear; the rock served as a makeshift hammer
Similar words: interim
Definition: serving during an intermediate interval of time
Usage: an interim agreement
Similar words: pro tem, pro tempore
Definition: for the time being
Usage: he is the president pro tem; designated him to act as consul protempore- H.H.Fiske
Similar words: shipboard
Definition: casual or ephemeral as if taking place on board a ship
Usage: shipboard romances
Similar words: temporal
Definition: not eternal
Usage: temporal matters of but fleeting moment- F.D.Roosevelt
Similar words: terminable
Definition: capable of being terminated after a designated time
Usage: terminable employees; a terminable annuity
Similar words: working
Definition: adopted as a temporary basis for further work
Usage: a working draft; a working hypothesis