nonpermanent

Will eventually end

Nonpermanent describes something not intended to last indefinitely or subject to change: a nonpermanent dye, nonpermanent members of the Security Council.

The word is more common in formal or technical contexts; in everyday speech, temporary usually fills the same role.

provisional

temporary

Limited in duration

interimProvisional in-between phase
stopgapTemporary substitute measure
makeshiftTemporary, improvised substitute

tentative · pro tem · acting · stand-in · placeholder · caretaker · holding · bridge · fill-in · substitute

ephemeral

fleeting

Passing very quickly

evanescentTending to vanish quickly
momentaryLasting very briefly
briefShort in duration

short-lived · passing · fugacious · vanishing · fading · dissipating · evaporating · withering · diminishing · perishable

reversible

removable

Capable of being detached

detachableAble to be unfastened
adjustableAble to be changed
rescindableCapable of annulment

revocable · terminable · replaceable · retractable · undoable · erasable · washable · snap-on · velcro · clip-on

transient

nomadic

Without fixed residence

itinerantMoving for work
migrantOne who relocates
wanderingTraveling with no fixed course

roving · peripatetic · drifting · unsettled · rootless · footloose · displaced · mobile · floating · seasonal

Opposites

duration/persistence

nonpermanentpermanent

Fixed without end

eternal · everlasting · perpetual · enduring · lasting

Family

permanent, ephemeral, transient, permanently, transitory, impermanent, permanence, impermanence, permanency

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G