Transitory \Tran"si*to*ry\, a. [L. transitorius: cf. F. transitoire. See Transient.]

Continuing only for a short time; not enduring; fleeting; evanescent.

Comfort and succor all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble. --Bk. of Com. Prayer.

It was not the transitory light of a comet, which shines and glows for a wile, and then . . . vanishes into nothing. --South.

Transitory action (Law), an action which may be brought in any county, as actions for debt, and the like; -- opposed to local action. --Blackstone. Bouvier.

Syn: transient; short-lived; brief. See Transient.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)