ɛˈfɛ.mə.ɹəl fjuːˈɡeɪ.ʃəs ˈpɑːsɪŋ ʃɔɹtˈlɪvd ˈtɹænsi.ənt ˈtɹæn.zi.ənt ˈtɹæn.zi.ənt ˈtɹæn.zɪ.t(ə)ɹɪ ˈtɹæn.zɪˌtɔɹ.i of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind lasting a very short time the ephemeral joys of childhood a passing fancy youth's transient beauty love is transitory but it is eternal fugacious blossoms (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load one who stays for only a short time transient laborers