Literary notes about temporary (AI summary)
Writers employ the term "temporary" to underscore the fleeting, provisional nature of various conditions, states, or constructs. It is used to designate moments that are deliberately transient, whether in relation to emotional states, such as a brief lapse into insanity or despondency ([1], [2]), or physical circumstances, like a makeshift shelter, bed, or even a coma that resolves as life resumes ([3], [4], [5]). The word often contrasts with the permanent, drawing attention to transitions or interruptions in narratives—from transient success or authority ([6], [7]) to ephemeral episodes that shape character or plot ([8], [9]). In these ways, "temporary" becomes a versatile tool, evoking the idea that change is inevitable and that many aspects of life are, by design, impermanent.
- “I see it all,” says the widder; “in a fit of temporary insanity he rashly converted hisself into sassages!”
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - Do not let the thorns which appear in every vocation, or temporary despondency or disappointment, shake your purpose.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - The temporary stable, a wooden shed, had been put up close to the race course, and there his mare was to have been taken the previous day.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - A little child was sleeping on a temporary bed which had been made for it on the floor, and the woman sat on a chair by its side.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - The temporary coma had ceased, and activity had come with the necessity for it.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - 39th Regt. Entered the army with temporary rank as capt. in the 52nd, and served in the Mediterranean.
— from The Waterloo Roll Call by Charles Dalton - Far more virile and noble is the sense of having actually done something, and left at least the temporary stamp of one's special will on the world.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - On another occasion their host was a stranger whom Rizal treated for a temporary illness, leaving a prescription to be filled at the drug store.
— from Lineage, Life and Labors of José Rizal, Philippine Patriot by Austin Craig - Let us acknowledge that from a certain point of view the temporary solitary confinement of the law-makers at Mazas does not displease us.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo
