provisional

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The team has also submitted a provisional patent for this work.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

The world's glaciers had one of their five worst years on record in 2024/25, according to provisional data, while sea ice at both poles was at or near record lows throughout most of 2025.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

A fuller regulatory mechanism would need a provisional track—reduced liability in exchange for mandatory monitoring and transparency.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

“I’m struck by that in a way the crayon or marker drawing is provisional — there’s no final form to it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

Thus knowledge, in so far as we have it, is not absolute but progressive, not definitive but provisional.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton