javascript - Animate changing words width

Question

I have a sentence where I fade in one word and replace it with another from an array. However, since the words all vary in length, the sentence width abruptly changes and it results in a choppy transition.
How can I animate the width change? I tried adding a transition to the container of the sentence in css but that didn't work. I applied the transition as 1.5s all linear, so it should be animating the width as well as everything else whenever there is change. Any ideas?

$(function() {
  var hello = ['dynamic', 'a', 'aklsjdlfajklsdlkf', 'asdf'];
  var used = ['dynamic'];
  var greeting = $('#what');
  var item;

  function hey() {

    item = hello[Math.floor(Math.random() * hello.length)];
    if (hello.length != used.length) {
      while (jQuery.inArray(item, used) != -1) {
        item = hello[Math.floor(Math.random() * hello.length)];
      }
      used.push(item);
    } else {
      used.length = 0;
      item = hello[Math.floor(Math.random() * hello.length)];
      used.push(item);
    }
    greeting.html(item);
    greeting.animate({
      "opacity": "1"
    }, 1500);
  }

  window.setInterval(function() {
    greeting.animate({
      "opacity": "0"
    }, 1500);
    setTimeout(hey, 1500)
  }, 5000);

});

#sentence {
  transition: 1.5s all linear;
}

#what {
  font-style: italic;
  text-decoration: underline;
  color: red;
}

<p id="sentence">
  This is a sentence that has <span id="what">dynamic</span> text that alters width.
</p>

<script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

Answer 1

function dataWord () {

  $("[data-words]").attr("data-words", function(i, d){
    var $self  = $(this),
        $words = d.split("|"),
        tot    = $words.length,
        c      = 0; 

    // CREATE SPANS INSIDE SPAN
    for(var i=0; i<tot; i++) $self.append($('<span/>',{text:$words[i]}));

    // COLLECT WORDS AND HIDE
    $words = $self.find("span").hide();

    // ANIMATE AND LOOP
    (function loop(){
      $self.animate({ width: $words.eq( c ).width() });
      $words.stop().fadeOut().eq(c).fadeIn().delay(1000).show(0, loop);
      c = ++c % tot;
    }());
    
  });

}

// dataWord(); // If you don't use external fonts use this on DOM ready; otherwise use:
$(window).on("load", dataWord);

p{text-align: center;font-family: 'Open Sans Condensed', sans-serif;font-size: 2em;}

/* WORDS SWAP */
[data-words]{
  vertical-align: top;
  position: static;
}
[data-words] > span{
  position: absolute;
  color: chocolate;
}

<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans+Condensed:300' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

<p>
  We provide
  <span data-words="code|solutions|design"></span>
  for your business.
</p>

<p>
  You ordered
  <span data-words="1|3|28"></span>
  <b>big</b>
  <span data-words="salad|macs|chips"></span>
</p>