TEMPORAL Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

temporal

adjective

ˈtem-p(ə-)rəl

Definition of temporal

as in mundane

having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven do not worry about temporal concerns, but instead focus on spiritual matters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in secular

not involving religion or religious matters administrators on campus are in place to deal with students' temporal needs, and spiritual advisors are available to help students with their nontemporal needs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of temporal When the dogs saw pictures of happy people, their temporal cortex and caudate nucleus became active. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 10 Aug. 2026 And those are just the normal lines—not the special-occasion ones that require more serious temporal investment. — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 10 Aug. 2026 The trailer establishes the film’s visual ambition through high-octane action sequences and production design that spans multiple geographical and temporal settings. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026 Its physical, psychological, and temporal dislocations often precede the possibility of narration itself. — Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 7 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for temporal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for temporal

Adjective

Sometimes, this is rewarded with the comfortingly mundane, a mash-up of bird and traffic sounds, for instance.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Fast-forward to today and the basic sensor package has become almost mundane.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of mundane

Adjective

Women had long been leaders and chief ideologues in secular movements – such as in the Weather Underground in the United States, Italy’s Red Brigades, Germany’s Red Army Faction and the Basque separatist group ETA.

— Sara Harmouch, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026
The flagship gathering resembles a cross between a Mardi Gras parade, an agricultural expo and a secular revival.

— Sam Flemming, AJC.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of secular

Adjective

While biomimicking a marine animal may seem like an obvious route for innovative design with underwater vehicles and buildings, the team’s approach also applies to terrestrial buildings.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
This reduced atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and turned soil into the first terrestrial carbon sinks.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of terrestrial

Adjective

Read Full Review Designed to tie in the five elements and the five senses, this Greek idyll is built into a mountain and has a large spherical pool as its physical and spiritual center.

— CNT Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
There is humiliation here, claustrophobia, physical vulnerability and an intimacy that occasionally brushes against the erotic.

— Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of physical

Adjective

In the chamber’s center, a drop of water on a chip contains the chemistry of whatever earthly era or exoplanetary site the group is trying to re-create.

— Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
More importantly, the Zellner brothers platform earthly elements, like music and food, as our most essential joie de vivre.

— Cortlyn Kelly, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of earthly

Adjective

Those range from the macro-industrial such as aircraft parts and underwater pipelines to the micro-medical such as stents that prop open bodily channels for bodily fluids.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
Much like how John Cage had tuned in to hear silence full of sound, Paxton tuned the dancer’s attention inward, to perceive bodily stillness full of internal micro-movements.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of bodily

Adjective

Vegetable Oils Vegetable and seed oils are some of the richest non-animal dietary sources of CoQ10.

— Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 16 July 2026
Computer models and other non-animal testing methods still aren’t the best available science, critics contend.

— Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026

Definition of animal

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tempo

temporal

temporaries

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“Temporal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/temporal. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of temporal

adjective

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