different between transient vs unstable

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

un- +? stable

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ste?b??/
• Rhymes: -e?b?l

Adjective

unstable (comparative more unstable, superlative most unstable)

1. Having a strong tendency to change.
2. Fluctuating; not constant.
3. Fickle.
4. Unpredictable.
5. (chemistry) Readily decomposable.
6. (physics) Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.

Synonyms

• (having strong tendency to change): labile
• (fluctuating, not constant): instable (rare); see also Thesaurus:unsteady
• (fickle): arbitrary, capricious
• (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over): tottering, unsteady, wobbly; see also Thesaurus:rickety

Antonyms

• stable

Related terms

• instability
• unstability (rare)

Translations

Verb

unstable (third-person singular simple present unstables, present participle unstabling, simple past and past participle unstabled)

1. (transitive) To release (an animal) from a stable.

Anagrams

• abluents, ant-blues, bleaunts, blue ants, tunables, unablest