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
JoAnn ShroyerThe social worlds of neighborhood and village are now less important as transitional zones between home and nonhome settings.—Theano S. Terkenli
Theano S. Terkenli… turning into a civilian coup, that … established a transitional government and prepared the way for multi-party elections.—Larry Diamond
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
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
Edgar L. Feige
Examples of transitional in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the surrounding world has a kind of hazy, shimmery, hallucinogenic quality that ties in with the main character’s age and a transitional period in her life.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025
The design from Scoop, which comes in black and chocolate brown, is ideal for transitional temperatures.
—Megan Schaltegger, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
Both young actors are superb, each zigzagging along that fine line between immature posturing and actual, exhilarating self-realization, evoking that transitional stage through which girls like them can often seem at least three ages at once.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
At the same time, the transitional government and domestic and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must work together, in spite of their mutual skepticism, to support the immediate and ongoing humanitarian needs of Syrians who never left the country.
—Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
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Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025
The design from Scoop, which comes in black and chocolate brown, is ideal for transitional temperatures.
—Megan Schaltegger, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
Both young actors are superb, each zigzagging along that fine line between immature posturing and actual, exhilarating self-realization, evoking that transitional stage through which girls like them can often seem at least three ages at once.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
At the same time, the transitional government and domestic and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must work together, in spite of their mutual skepticism, to support the immediate and ongoing humanitarian needs of Syrians who never left the country.
—Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for transitional
Dictionary Entries Near transitional
Cite this Entry
“Transitional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transitional. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
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