instant

English Online Dictionary. What means instant‎? What does instant mean?

English

Alternative forms

• instaunt (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪnstənt/

Etymology 1

From Middle English instant (“infinitely short period of time”), from Old French instant (“assiduous, at hand”, adj), 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.

Noun

instant (plural instants)

1. A very short period of time; a moment.

   Synonyms: eyeblink, flash, jiffy; see also Thesaurus:moment
2. A single, usually precise, point in time.

   Synonyms: minute, moment

3. A beverage or food which has been pre-processed to reduce preparation time, especially instant coffee.
5. Ellipsis of instant camera.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From French instant and Middle English instant, both from Old French, from Latin instans (“standing by, being near, present, also urgent, importunate”), present participle of instō (“to stand upon, press upon, urge, pursue, insist”), from in (“on, upon”) + stō (“to stand”); see state.

Adjective

instant (not comparable)

1. (dated) Impending; imminent.

   Synonyms: pending, proximate; see also Thesaurus:impending
2. (dated) Urgent; pressing; acute.
3. (dated) Insistent; persistent.

   Synonyms: exigent, imperious; see also Thesaurus:urgent

   • January 2, 1827, Thomas Carlyle, letter to Mrs. Carlyle, Scotsbrig

     I am beginning to be very instant for some sort of occupation.

4. (law) Present; current; extant.
   • December 28, 2019 Attorney Jeffery S. Levin, quoted in The Boston Globe, p. 3

     He received just two disciplinary reports prior to committing the instant offense, one in March 2019 for activating an alarm during a non-emergency situation, and one in May 2019 for failing to provide a urine specimen.

5. Occurring immediately; immediate; present.

   Synonyms: instantaneous; see also Thesaurus:instantaneous
6. Lasting for a short moment; momentary; short-lived.

   Synonyms: brief, transient; see also Thesaurus:ephemeral

7. Very quickly and easily prepared.

8. Of the current month.

   Synonym: (abbreviation) inst.

Derived terms

Related terms

• instakill
• instance

Translations

Adverb

instant (not comparable)

1. (poetic) At once; immediately.

Related terms

Etymology 3

Ultimately from Latin īnstāre; its precise evolution is uncertain. OED hints at (unattested) Middle French *instanter.

Verb

instant (third-person singular simple present instants, present participle instanting, simple past and past participle instanted)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To urge, press (smeone); to insist on, demand (something).

Further reading

• “instant, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnstantem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [insˈtan]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [insˈtant]

Noun

instant m (plural instants)

1. instant (very short period of time)

Related terms

• instantani

Further reading

• “instant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “instant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “instant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “instant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃s.tɑ̃/

Adjective

instant (feminine instante, masculine plural instants, feminine plural instantes)

1. (literary) pressing, insistent

Noun

instant m (plural instants)

1. instant, minute, moment

   en un instant ― in an instant

   il n’y a pas un instant à perdre ― there's not a moment to spare

   ne durer qu’un instant ― to last only an instant

   ne pas douter de quelque chose un seul instant ― not to doubt something for a minute

   il ne faut qu’un instant pour le faire ― it takes only a minute to do

Derived terms

Further reading

• “instant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Verb

īnstant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of īnstō

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English instant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [inˈstant]

Adjective

instant m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. instant (very quickly and easily prepared)

Declension

Adjective

instant m or n (feminine singular instantă, masculine plural instanți, feminine and neuter plural instante)

1. (nonstandard) instant (occurring immediately; immediate; present)

Declension

Synonyms

• instantaneu

Adverb

instant

1. (nonstandard) instantly

   Synonym: instantaneu