| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | lasting only a short while |
| Synonyms: | Band-Aid, acting, ad hoc, ad interim, alternate, brief, changeable, ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, for the time being, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, interim, limited, make-do, makeshift, momentary, mortal, overnight, passing, perishable, pro tem, pro tempore, provisional, provisory, shifting, short, short-lived, slapdash, stopgap, substitute, summary, supply, temp, transient, transitory, unfixed, unstable, volatile |
| Main Entry: | alternate |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | substitute |
| Synonyms: | alternative, another, backup, different, interchanging, makeshift, second, surrogate, temporary |
| Notes: | alternate means 'one after the other' or 'each succeeding the other in turn, especially continuously' and alternative means 'one instead of the other' or 'allowing or necessitating a choice between two or more things' |
| Antonyms: | necessary |
| Main Entry: | brief |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | short in time |
| Synonyms: | concise, curtailed, ephemeral, fast, fleeting, hasty, instantaneous, little, meteoric, momentary, passing, quick, short-lived, short-term, swift, temporary, transient, transitory |
| Antonyms: | enduring, lasting, lengthy, long, long-lived |
| Main Entry: | ephemeral |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | momentary, passing |
| Synonyms: | brief, episodic, evanescent, fleeting, flitting, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, short, short-lived, temporary, transient, transitory, unenduring, volatile |
| Antonyms: | enduring, eternal, everlasting, interminable, lasting, long, permanent, perpetual |
| Main Entry: | evanescent |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | transient |
| Synonyms: | brief, disappearing, fading, fleeting, momentary, passing, short-lived, temporary, tenuous, vanishing |
| Main Entry: | experimental |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | exploratory |
| Synonyms: | beginning, developmental, empirical, experiential, first stage, laboratory, momentary, on approval, pilot, preliminary, preparatory, primary, probationary, provisional, speculative, temporary, tentative, test, trial, trial-and-error, unconcluded, under probation, unproved |
| Antonyms: | proven, tested, tried |
| Main Entry: | fleeting |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | brief, transient |
| Synonyms: | cursory, ephemeral, evanescent, fading, flash in the pan, flitting, flying, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, meteoric, momentary, passing, short, short-lived, sudden, temporary, transitory, vanishing, volatile |
| Antonyms: | constant, continual, endless, enduring, lasting, lengthy, long, long-lived, permanent, perpetual |
| Main Entry: | fly-by-night |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unreliable and shady |
| Synonyms: | brief, cowboy, disreputable, dubious, ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, here-today-gone-tomorrow, impermanent, irresponsible, momentary, not to be relied upon, not to be trusted, passing, questionable, shady, shifty, short-lived, slimy*, slippery*, temporary, treacherous, trustless, undependable, unprofessional, unreliable, unsure, untrustworthy |
| Antonyms: | dependable, reliable, reputable, responsible, trustworthy |
| Main Entry: | fugitive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fleeing, transient |
| Synonyms: | avoiding, brief, criminal, elusive, ephemeral, errant, erratic, escaping, evading, evanescent, fleeting, flitting, flying*, fugacious, hot*, impermanent, lamster, momentary, moving, on the lam, passing, planetary, running away, short*, short-lived, temporary, transitory, unstable, volatile, wandering, wanted |
| Antonyms: | confronting, facing, permanent |