different between transient vs imperceptible

English

Etymology

From stem of Latin transiens, present participle of transire (“to go over, to pass”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?æn.zi.?nt/

Adjective

transient (comparative more transient, superlative most transient)

1. Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.

   a transient pleasure
2. Remaining for only a brief time.

   a transient view of a landscape

   a transient disease

3. (physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
4. (mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
5. Occasional; isolated; one-off
6. Passing through; passing from one person to another.
7. (music) Intermediate.
8. (philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.

Synonyms

• (passing): passing, transitory, temporary
• (brief): brief, ephemeral, fleeting, flighty, fugacious

Antonyms

• (passing): permanent
• (brief): permanent, inveterate
• (mathematics): recurrent
• (philosophy): immanent

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

transient (plural transients)

1. Something that is transient.
2. (physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
3. (acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform that occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
4. A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; a migrant worker
   • 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, Virago Press, paperback edition, page 3

     Then, within the space of a few months, there were more transients than there were locals, and the imbalance seemed morally wrong.

5. A homeless person.

Synonyms

• (traveller): itinerant, migrant, traveller
• (homeless person): homeless

Translations

Anagrams

• instanter, intranets

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French imperceptible, from Medieval Latin imperceptibilis

Adjective

imperceptible (comparative more imperceptible, superlative most imperceptible)

1. not perceptible, not detectable, too small in magnitude to be observed
   • 1986, Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, OUP Oxford (?ISBN), page 75:

     Very small benefits may be imperceptible. And it is plausible to claim that an 'imperceptible benefit' is not a benefit.

   Synonyms: imperceivable, undistinguishable, unperceivable

   Antonyms: detectable, perceptible

Derived terms

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From Medieval Latin imperceptibilis, equivalent to im- +? perceptible.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /im.p??.s?p?ti.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /im.p?r.s?p?ti.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /im.pe?.sep?ti.ble/

Adjective

imperceptible (masculine and feminine plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

   Antonym: perceptible

Derived terms

• imperceptiblement

Further reading

• “imperceptible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “imperceptible” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “imperceptible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “imperceptible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From the Medieval Latin imperceptibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p??.s?p.tibl/

Adjective

imperceptible (plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

Further reading

• “imperceptible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

From Medieval Latin imperceptibilis; synchronically analyzable as im- +? perceptible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /impe??eb?tible/, [?m.pe?.?e???t?i.??le]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /impe?seb?tible/, [?m.pe?.se???t?i.??le]

Adjective

imperceptible (plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible