provisional
adjective
, -ˈvi-zhə-nᵊl\
Definition of provisional
(Entry 1 of 2)
provisional
nounDefinition of provisional (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for provisional
Synonyms: Adjective
ad interim, impermanent, interim, provisionary, provisory, short-term, temporary
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of provisional in a Sentence
Adjective
The government has given provisional approval for the use of the new drug. will form a provisional government until a new leader can be electedRecent Examples on the Web: Adjective
First, Paltrow sounds a lot like a certain president here: truth is provisional, and there are no real facts. — Julia Belluz, Vox, "Gwyneth Paltrow split with Condé Nast because they wanted her to use a fact checker," 26 July 2018 About 471,500 California babies were born in 2017, down by 17,000, or 3 percent, from 2016, according to the CDC data, which is provisional. — Phillip Reese, sacbee, "California birth rate falls again to record low | The Sacramento Bee," 17 May 2018 While Julie and her friend Zander (Ian Saint-Germain) hide out in her room, watching horror movies on his laptop and innocently flirting, all escapism is only provisional. — Ben Brantley, New York Times, "Review: ‘This Flat Earth’ Traces Childhood Fears No Parent Can Allay," 9 Apr. 2018 Judge Margo Brodie already had ruled that the plaintiff required a mandatory injunction, which went above and beyond the restoration of the status quo (the NASL’s D2 status was provisional). — Brian Straus, SI.com, "NASL Cancels 2018 Season Days After Court Denies Injunction Appeal," 27 Feb. 2018 However Michael elected not to ascend the throne and after a few years under a provisional government, Russia would become part of the USSR in 1922. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "Queen Victoria's Descendants Still Reign Over Europe," 17 Feb. 2019 Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets to demand Mr. Maduro’s resignation, and support Mr. Guaidó, who was last week named by the assembly as provisional president. — David Luhnow, WSJ, "Venezuela’s Military Backs Maduro," 24 Jan. 2019 The key, in journalism as in any truth-seeking pursuit, is to try your best to keep all your beliefs and conclusions at arm’s length, at least somewhat provisional. — David Roberts, Vox, "My advice for aspiring explainer journalists," 9 Dec. 2018 The Vatican said the agreement was provisional, suggesting it could be revisited periodically. — Christopher Bodeen, Fox News, "Vatican agreement with China draws concerns amid crackdown," 28 Sep. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Election Day in this year’s statewide Democratic and Republican primary election was June 26, followed by an absentee ballot canvass June 28, a provisional ballot canvass Thursday and the final count of absentee and provisionals Friday. — David Anderson, The Aegis, "McComas, Wagner win tight Harford primary races after final ballot canvass," 6 July 2018 The Board of Elections, sitting as the Board of Canvassers, accepted 313, including 274 absentees and 39 provisionals. — David Anderson, The Aegis, "McComas, Wagner win tight Harford primary races after final ballot canvass," 6 July 2018 There’s going to be a paper recount of all the votes from early voting, election day, absentees and provisionals. — Pamela Wood, baltimoresun.com, "Brochin asks for full manual recount in Democratic primary for Baltimore County executive," 10 July 2018 McComas picked up five more votes in the Republican race for District 34B, while Tilley earned six provisionals. — David Anderson, The Aegis, "Leaders in 2018 Harford races remain there after provisional ballot canvass Thurs.," 5 July 2018 Welcomed were 2018 spring provisionals Jennifer Bankston, Maggie Bopp, Megan Butler, Lauren Duncan, Jillian Gutierrez, Misty Jenkins, Danielle Looper and Amanda Toombs-Couvillon. — Elizabeth Moore, NOLA.com, "North Shore Notables: Junior League of Covington honors members, introduces new board," 27 May 2018 Concordia's list of NCAA Division II provisional qualifiers grows. — Ken Goe, OregonLive.com, "Might the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials return to Hayward Field after all? Oregon track & field rundown," 9 Apr. 2018 Provisionals are immersed into their chapter’s projects, fundraising initiatives, and the community as a whole. — Southern Living, "Secrets of the Southern Junior Leagues," 1 May 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'provisional.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for provisional
provisional
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of provisional
See the full definition for provisional in the English Language Learners Dictionary
provisional
adjective
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Legal Definition of provisional
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