transitional

adjective

tran·​si·​tion·​al tran(t)-ˈsi-sh(ə-)nəl How to pronounce transitional (audio)
tran(t)-ˈsi-zh(ə-)nəl,
tran-ˈzi-sh(ə-)nəl How to pronounce transitional (audio)
: 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
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Sabra Health Care focuses on skilled nursing/transitional care facilities, senior housing, behavioral health facilities and specialty hospitals. Michelle Fox, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025 But if this is another transitional summer for Spurs, there is one dramatic card that Levy could yet play: the full Paratici restoration. Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025 If the transitional shelter housing floods, Boling said residents might have to evacuate to an empty warehouse on the other side of town that is planned to be used to expand the Paducah Cooperative Ministry’s food pantry. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025 Toyota is still selling a lot of vehicles, and hybrids are now being seen as the transitional option before battery-electric vehicles become really mainstream. New Atlas, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for transitional

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of transitional was in 1819

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Cite this Entry

“Transitional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transitional. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

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)

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