If I had to describe a state that occurred only for a certain amount of time, I'd simply use the adjective "temporary" to describe the state (or the adverb "temporarily" to describe the verb). What word describes a change by distance (without regard to time)?
For example, if I were giving spoken driving directions that go through a road whose name changes from "Park Avenue" to "Main Street" and then back to "Park Avenue", I might say:
Park Avenue changes temporarily to Main Street.
I think most people would hear that and understand clearly what I meant. However, "temporary" refers only to time (not distance), which makes me question whether I'm correctly using the word. After all, Park Avenue at mile marker 50 is always Park Avenue. What's a more appropriate adverb to describe "changes" in this context?
Best Answer
You could use briefly:
Note that briefly is defined by Merriam-Webster's as:
…and, more usefully, brief is defined as:
So the brevity of Main Street can be in the distance it covers.