transient
Here then gone
Transient describes things that pass quickly or don't last long.
A transient mood or transient pain comes and goes.
In more technical contexts, transient characterizes temporary conditions: transient ischemic attacks are brief interruptions of blood flow to the brain.
As a noun, a transient is someone who stays in a place only briefly, often with connotations of homelessness or drifting: The shelter serves transients passing through town.
The word suggests impermanence without the negative weight of fleeting or ephemeral.
Short in duration
- short-livedLasting only briefly
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- fugaciousLasting very briefly
vanishing · fading · quick · instantaneous · flash · provisional · nonpermanent · perishable
Homeless itinerant person
- drifterAimless, rootless traveler
- hoboItinerant without fixed address
- vagabondHomeless, aimless wanderer
- trampWandering homeless person
derelict · flophouse · shelter · panhandling · squatting · rootless · displaced · down-and-out
Homeless wanderer by choice
- wandererRootless, roving person
- itinerantMoving for work
- roamingMoving without fixed purpose
- BedouinMiddle Eastern nomadic herder
caravan · yurt · pastoralist · herder · Roma · Tuareg · wanderlust · rootless
Short-term guest
- guestWelcomed visitor
- sojournerOne dwelling temporarily
- touristTraveler visiting attractions
- passerbyOne who walks past
stopover · day-tripper · weekender · backpacker · globetrotter · wayfarer · stranger · out-of-towner
Person relocating for employment
- seasonal workerEmployee hired periodically
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
- refugeePerson fleeing danger abroad
- expatriateOne living abroad permanently
displaced · undocumented · guest worker · farmhand · bracero
Undergoing organic breakdown
- dissolvingPassing into solution
- witheringDrying and declining
- wiltingLosing turgor and drooping
- crumblingBreaking down gradually
fading · dying · dissipating · evaporating · deteriorating · disintegrating · decomposing · perishing
Prone to sudden change
- fluctuatingShifting irregularly over time
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- volatileLiable to sudden change
- changeableCapable of alteration
unpredictable · inconsistent · unsettled · precarious · vacillating · capricious · unreliable · spasmodic
brief
Short in duration
- short-livedLasting only briefly
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
fugacious · vanishing · fading · quick · instantaneous · flash · provisional · nonpermanent · perishable
vagrant
Homeless itinerant person
- drifterAimless, rootless traveler
- hoboItinerant without fixed address
- vagabondHomeless, aimless wanderer
tramp · derelict · flophouse · shelter · panhandling · squatting · rootless · displaced · down-and-out · skid row
nomad
Homeless wanderer by choice
Bedouin · caravan · yurt · pastoralist · herder · Roma · Tuareg · wanderlust · rootless · peregrination
visitor
Short-term guest
passerby · stopover · day-tripper · weekender · backpacker · globetrotter · wayfarer · stranger · out-of-towner · pilgrim
migrant worker
Person relocating for employment
- seasonal workerEmployee hired periodically
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
- refugeePerson fleeing danger abroad
expatriate · displaced · undocumented · guest worker · farmhand · bracero
decaying
Undergoing organic breakdown
- dissolvingPassing into solution
- witheringDrying and declining
- wiltingLosing turgor and drooping
crumbling · fading · dying · dissipating · evaporating · deteriorating · disintegrating · decomposing · perishing · expiring
unstable
Prone to sudden change
- fluctuatingShifting irregularly over time
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- volatileLiable to sudden change
changeable · unpredictable · inconsistent · unsettled · precarious · vacillating · capricious · unreliable · spasmodic · wavering
- time wordsminute, hour, day, now, soon
- residentsresident, residents, inhabitants, inhabitant, local
- shortshort, brief, small, little, tiny
- temporarytemp job, interim, temp worker, provisional, stopgap
- outsidersoutcast, outsider, outcasts, pariah, misfit
- wandererswanderer, hikers, vagabond, wanderers, drifter
transientpermanent
Fixed without end
eternal · lasting · enduring · perpetual · everlasting
transientresident
One who inhabits
permanent resident · settler · native · local · inhabitant
transientconstant
Fixed, unvarying quantity
stable · steady · fixed · unchanging · persistent
- transient populationShort-term inhabitants of area