instant
Plural: instants
Noun
- A very short space of time; a moment.
- a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
- a particular point in time
- A very short period of time; a moment.
- A single, usually precise, point in time.
- A beverage or food which has been pre-processed to reduce preparation time, especially instant coffee.
- Ellipsis of instant camera.
Adjective Satellite
- occurring with no delay
- "relief was instantaneous"
- "instant gratification"
- in or of the present month
- demanding attention; ; ; - H.L.Mencken
- "an instant need"
Adj
- Impending; imminent.
- Urgent; pressing; acute.
- Insistent; persistent.
- Present; current; extant.
- Occurring immediately; immediate; present.
- Lasting for a short moment; momentary; short-lived.
- Very quickly and easily prepared.
- Of the current month.
Adv
- At once; immediately.
Verb
- To urge, press (smeone); to insist on, demand (something).
Examples
- He knew in an INSTANT that ’QINTAR’ was a valid, high-scoring word.
- I refer to your letter of the 16th instant in regard to traffic disruption.
- instant coffee; instant noodles; instant mashed potato; instant photo
- She paused for only an instant, which was just enough time for John to change the subject.
- The instant the alarm went off, he fled the building.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English instant (“infinitely short period of time”), from Old French instant (“assiduous, at hand”, adjective), from Latin īnstāns, īnstantis (“present, pressing, urgent”, literally “standing near”), present active participle of īnstō (“to stand upon, be nearby”), from in- (“after”) + stō (“to stand”). Compare Old English instede (“immediately, on the spot, at once”). More at in, stand.
Synonyms
blink of an eye, clamant, crying, exigent, flash, heartbeat, insistent, inst, instantaneous, jiffy, minute, moment, New York minute, second, split second, trice, twinkling, wink, New York second, acute, around the corner, at hand, bad, bat of an eye, bit, brief, crack, deciduous, dire, ephemeral, evanescent, eyeblink, fleeting, flying, forthcoming, fugacious, fugitive, glimpse, half a mo, immediate, imminent, impendent, impending, imperious, in the offing, in the wind, insta-, instant, jiff, jot, mo, momentary, no time, on the boil, passing, pending, perishable, present, pressing, pressive, proximate, quick, rash, seasonable, sec, severe, short, short-lived, span, split-second, spurt, stound, temporary, tick, to come, toward, transient, transitive, transitory, twink, twinkle, upcoming, urgent, volatile, while, whilend
Scrabble Score: 7
instant: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordinstant: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
instant: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary