Meanings
provisional1
- not comparableTemporary, but with the intention of eventually becoming permanent or being replaced by a permanent equivalent.
The provisional date for the wedding is April 2, but it is subject to confirmation at the church.
1 more example
Marsden and Jones were named in the provisional squad for the European Championships, to be confirmed before the 30 June deadline.
Synonyms: provisionary
Provisional2
plural Provisionals · abbreviation Provo
- a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveTemporary, but with the intention of eventually becoming permanent or being replaced by a permanent equivalent.
nounA postage stamp issued locally before an official issue is released.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveunder terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchprovisionnal
- Englishprovisional
From provision + -al, or else from Middle French provisionnal (modern French provisionnel). Compare Latin prōvīsiōnālis.
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُؤَقَّت, مَشْرُوط
- مُؤَقَّت (muʔaqqat)temporary
- مَشْرُوط (mašrūṭ)temporary
Bulgarian временен, условен
- временен (vremenen)temporary
- условен (usloven)temporary
Catalan provisional, provisori
- provisionaltemporary
- provisoritemporary
Chinese Mandarin 临时
- 临时 (línshí)temporary
Czech provizorní, prozatímní
- provizornítemporary
- prozatímnítemporary
Danish provisorisk, provisorie
- provisorisktemporary
- provisorieprovisional postage stamp
Dutch voorlopig, provisorisch
- voorlopigtemporary
- provisorischtemporary
- provisioneeltemporary
- provisoirtemporary
Esperanto provizora
- provizoratemporary
Finnish tilapäinen, väliaikainen
- tilapäinentemporary
- väliaikainentemporary
French provisoire, temporaire
- provisoiretemporary
- temporairetemporary
German provisorisch, vorläufig
- provisorischtemporary
- vorläufigtemporary
Greek προσωρινός
- προσωρινός (prosorinós)temporary
Hungarian ideiglenes
- ideiglenestemporary
Irish sealadach
- sealadachtemporary
Italian provvisionale, provvisorio
- provvisionaletemporary
- provvisoriotemporary
Japanese 臨時
- 臨時 (rinji)temporary
Polish prowizoryczny, tymczasowy
- prowizorycznytemporary
- tymczasowytemporary
- przejściowytemporary
- tymczasowy znaczek pocztowyprovisional postage stamp
Portuguese provisório
- provisóriotemporary
Romanian provizoriu
- provizoriutemporary
Russian вре́менный, предварительный
- вре́менный (vrémennyj)temporary
- предварительный (predvaritelʹnyj)temporary
Spanish provisional, provisorio
- provisionaltemporary
- provisoriotemporary
Swedish provisorisk
- provisorisktemporary
Turkish geçici
- geçicitemporary
Cite this entry
provisional. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/provisional
“provisional.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/provisional. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “provisional,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/provisional.
Source: provisional on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.