transitorily

adv

"transitorily" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“transitorily” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a transitory way.

Corpus desk

Index EN-transitorily · transitorily · English

transitorily · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for transitorily
PropertyValue
Headwordtransitorily
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “transitorily” in English

transitorilyranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

transitorily is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a transitory way.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for transitorily in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From transitory + -ly. The correct English form is transitorily, spelled T-R-A-N-S-I-T-O-R-I-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a transitory way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how transitorily appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. With regard to similes of this kind, it will readily occur to the reader that when a resembling subject is once properly introduced in a simile, the mind is transitorily amused with the new object, and is not dissatisfied with the slight interruption.
  2. All parts of the experienced world are experienced transitorily. They appear and disappear.

Etymology

From transitory + -ly.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "transitorily"?
"transitorily" is spelled T-R-A-N-S-I-T-O-R-I-L-Y.
What does "transitorily" mean?
As an adverb, "transitorily" means: In a transitory way.
What is the origin of the word "transitorily"?
From transitory + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list