The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Transitory \Tran"si*to*ry\, a. [L. transitorius: cf. F.
   transitoire. See Transient.]
   Continuing only for a short time; not enduring; fleeting;
   evanescent.
   [1913 Webster]

         Comfort and succor all those who, in this transitory
         life, are in trouble.                    --Bk. of Com.
                                                  Prayer.
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         It was not the transitory light of a comet, which
         shines and glows for a wile, and then . . . vanishes
         into nothing.                            --South.
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   Transitory action (Law), an action which may be brought in
      any county, as actions for debt, and the like; -- opposed
      to local action. --Blackstone. Bouvier.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: transient; short-lived; brief. See Transient.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

transitory
    adj 1: lasting a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of
           childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient
           beauty"; "love is transitory but it is eternal";
           "fugacious blossoms" [syn: ephemeral, passing,
           short-lived, transient, transitory, fugacious]