transitional

adjective

tran·​si·​tion·​al tran(t)-ˈsi-sh(ə-)nəl 

tran(t)-ˈsi-zh(ə-)nəl,

tran-ˈzi-sh(ə-)nəl 

: marked by transition : involving, providing, or consisting of a passage, movement, or change from one state, condition, subject, place, etc., to another

a transitional passage in music

They are often transitional areas between water environments and dry land, and are populated by many trees and plants that can put up with the occasional flood …

—JoAnn Shroyer

The social worlds of neighborhood and village are now less important as transitional zones between home and nonhome settings.

—Theano S. Terkenli

… turning into a civilian coup, that … established a transitional government and prepared the way for multi-party elections.

—Larry Diamond

… an animal about the size of a turkey that they contend was a flightless bird, a transitional figure between some carnivorous dinosaurs and modern birds.

—John Noble Wilford

transitionally adverb

The problem then is to structure a sequence of reforms that is politically consistent with the social mores of the Soviet Union, economically coherent, and transitionally sound …

—Edgar L. Feige

Examples of transitional in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Paired with black over-the-knee boots, the look marked a key transitional wardrobe staple, ideal for winter-to-spring attire as well as fall moments. —Julia Teti, WWD, 19 Mar. 2025

In Glenn and El Dorado counties, fewer than 80% of kindergarten and transitional kindergarten students were fully vaccinated, and fewer than 81% against measles. —Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025

This season, the romantic detail is showing up in the form of functional bow tie closures on jackets and vests — both of which are super transitional. —Victoria Montalti, refinery29.com, 14 Mar. 2025

San Diego Unified School District families can soon start enrolling their children in transitional kindergarten, which will have more classrooms next school year and fewer children in each one. —Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for transitional

• additional
• conditional
• nutritional
• positional
• traditional
• volitional
• compositional
• definitional
• depositional
• dispositional
• intuitional
• nontraditional

Medical Definition

transitional

adjective

tran·​si·​tion·​al

-ˈish-nəl, -ˈizh-ən-ᵊl

1

: of, relating to, or characterized by transition

2

: of, relating to, or being epithelium (as in the urinary bladder) that consists of several layers of soft cuboidal cells which become flattened when stretched (as when the bladder is distended)