Temporal
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Anything temporal or secular; a temporality. in-plural
"for God's people love always to be dealing as well in temporals as spirituals"
- 2 Ellipsis of temporal bone. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 3 the semantic role of the noun phrase that designates the time of the state or action denoted by the verb wordnet
- 4 Any of a reptile's scales on the side of the head between the parietal and supralabial scales, and behind the postocular scales.
- 1 Of or relating to the material world, as opposed to sacred or clerical. not-comparable, relational, usually
"temporal power, temporal courts"
- 2 Of or situated in the temples of the head or the sides of the skull behind the orbits. not-comparable, relational
- 3 Relating to time:; Of limited time, transient, passing, not perpetual, as opposed to eternal. not-comparable, relational, usually
"The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
- 4 Relating to time:; Of limited time, transient, passing, not perpetual, as opposed to eternal.; Lasting for a short time only. euphemistic, not-comparable, relational, usually
- 5 Relating to time:; Of or relating to time as distinguished from space. not-comparable, relational, usually
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- 6 Relating to time:; Of or relating to the sequence of time or to a particular time. not-comparable, relational, usually
- 7 Relating to time:; Relating to or denoting time or tense. not-comparable, relational, usually
- 1 of this earth or world wordnet
- 2 not eternal wordnet
- 3 characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world wordnet
- 4 of or relating to the temples (the sides of the skull behind the orbit) wordnet
- 5 of or relating to or limited by time wordnet
Example
More examples"When I swallow I feel an intense pain caused by my elongated temporal styloid process. My condition is called "Eagle Syndrome"."
Etymology
From Middle English temporal, temporel (“transitory, worldly, material, of secular society”), from Old French temporel or Latin temporālis (“of time (in grammar), temporary, relating to time as opposed to eternity”), from tempus (“time, period, opportunity”) + -ālis.
From Middle English, from Middle French timporal, temporal, from Late Latin temporālis, from tempora (“the temples of the head”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of temporalis.
Related phrases
More for "temporal"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.