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Temporary vs. Permanent

Temporary and Permanent Definitions

Temporary

Lasting, used, serving, or enjoyed for a limited time.

Permanent

Lasting or remaining without essential change
"the universal human yearning for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change" (Willa Cather).

Temporary

One that serves for a limited time
An office staffed by temporaries.

Permanent

Not expected to change in status, condition, or place
A permanent address.
Permanent secretary to the president.

Temporary

Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time.
Sally was put in temporary charge of the department while they searched for a full-time replacement.

Permanent

Any of several long-lasting hair styles usually achieved by chemical applications that straighten, curl, or wave the hair.
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Temporary

Existing only for a short time or short times; transient, ephemeral.

Permanent

Without end, eternal.
Nothing in this world is truly permanent.

Temporary

One serving for a limited time; short-term employee.

Permanent

Lasting for an indefinitely long time.
The countries are now locked in a permanent state of conflict.

Temporary

(programming) A short-term variable used to store an intermediate result.

Permanent

A chemical hair treatment imparting or removing curliness, whose effects typically last for a period of weeks; a perm.
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Temporary

Lasting for a time only; existing or continuing for a limited time; not permanent; as, the patient has obtained temporary relief.
Temporary government of the city.

Permanent

Given an n \times n matrix a_{ij} \,, the sum over all permutations \pi \, of \prod_{i=1}^n{a_{i\pi(i)}}.

Temporary

Not permanent; not lasting;
Politics is an impermanent factor of life
Impermanent palm cottages
A temperary arrangement
Temporary housing

Permanent

(trading card games) A card whose effects persist beyond the turn on which it is played.

Temporary

Lacking continuity or regularity;
An irregular worker
Employed on a temporary basis

Permanent

To perm (the hair).
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Permanent

Continuing in the same state, or without any change that destroys form or character; remaining unaltered or unremoved; abiding; durable; fixed; stable; lasting; as, a permanent impression.
Eternity stands permanent and fixed.

Permanent

A series of waves in the hair made by applying heat and chemicals

Permanent

Continuing or enduring without marked change in status or condition or place;
Permanent secretary to the president
Permanent address
Literature of permanent value

Permanent

Not capable of being reversed or returned to the original condition;
Permanent brain damage

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