temporarily

/tɛmpəˈrɛrɪli/

/tɛmpəˈrɛrɪli/

Temporarily describes something that happens for a limited amount of time. If you agree to watch your friend's dog temporarily, you'll be surprised if it turns out that your friend will be in France for at least two years.

Temporarily is the adverbial form of "temporary," which comes from the Latin word tempus, meaning time. Something done temporarily is supposed to be concluded in a finite amount of time. If your car is temporarily out of commission, you expect that you will be able to fix it and get it back on the road. If you drop the word temporarily from that sentence, your car may be a goner.

Definitions of temporarily

1. adverb

   for a limited time only; not permanently
   “he will work here temporarily”

   “he was brought out of retirement temporarily”

   “a power failure temporarily darkened the town”

   antonyms:

   permanently

   for a long time without essential change