transient
tran·sient/ˈtɹan.zi.ənt/adjective, noun
transient is spelled T-R-A-N-S-I-E-N-T: 9 letters and 2 syllables (tran·sient). It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, transient means “Passing or disappearing with time; transitory” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in transient?
| Letters | 9: T-R-A-N-S-I-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tran·sient |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is transient?
Transient appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce transient?
- UK /ˈtɹan.zi.ənt/
- UK /ˈtɹɑːn.zi.ənt/
- UK /-si.ənt/
Transient has 2 syllables, split tran·sient in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-transient.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with transient?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as transient (/anziənt/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: instanter.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of transient
- more transient comparative
- most transient superlative
- transients plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does transient mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.
a transient pleasure
- 2
Remaining for only a brief time.
a transient view of a landscape
- 3
Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
- 4
unsteady, [[nonsteady|non-]-steady-state]].
- 5
having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
- 6
Occasional; isolated; one-off
- 7
Passing through; passing from one person to another.
- 8
Intermediate.
noun
- 1
Something that is transient.
- 2
A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
- 3
A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform that occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
- 4
A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; a migrant worker.
- 5
A homeless person.
- 6
A module that generally remains in memory only for a short time.
- 7
A homestay.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Transient in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passager, provisoire, transitoire, temporaire , bref, éphémère |
| German | vergänglich, vorübergehend, temporär, instationär, Übergangs-, unbeständig |
| Portuguese | transitório |
| Spanish | trotamundo, transeúnte |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does transient come from?
From Late Latin transiēnt- (for classical transeunt-), stem of transiēns, present participle of trānsīre (“to go over, to pass”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).