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

The report found 3,253 people in shelters or transitional housing, up 582 people, or 22%, from 2024. —Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 13 May 2026

There were 1,519 living in either emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens, which is a shelter for veterans. —Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2026

The elbow-length T-shirt is a great staple for transitional weather, and Quince’s version comes in black, gray, and navy. —Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026

Buium has a path to being a top-pair defender with power-play value, Willander has a path open to him to being a top-four transitional defender and even Elias Pettersson (the defender) can be more than just a physical, third-pair guy. —Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for transitional

• additional
• conditional
• nutritional
• positional
• traditional
• volitional
• compositional
• definitional
• depositional
• dispositional
• intuitional
• nontraditional

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)