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

Outgoing officials met for the first time Tuesday with al-Bashir, who told reporters that the transitional period would last until the beginning of March. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 11 Dec. 2024

The perfect winter-to-spring transitional scent with bright botanical fig. —Rose Dommu, Them, 11 Dec. 2024

Michel’s son, Santiago, who is nearly 2 years old, is now attending San Jose Day Nursery and her 4-year-old daughter, Brielle, graduated last year and is now in transitional kindergarten. —Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 11 Dec. 2024

Decreasing Admissions Rates at Second Tier Schools As the Ivy League has entered a transitional phase in the last few admissions cycles amidst wide-ranging criticism, prestigious second-tier institutions have risen in popularity, filling a void caused by the plummeting Ivy League acceptance rates. —Christopher Rim, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

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)