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instant

Pronunciation: /ˈɪnstənt/

The English word “instant” has 14 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A very short period of time; a moment.
  2. A single, usually precise, point in time.
  3. A beverage or food which has been pre-processed to reduce preparation time, especially instant coffee.
  4. instant camera

adjective

  1. Impending; imminent.
  2. Urgent; pressing; acute.
  3. Insistent; persistent.
  4. Present; current; extant.
  5. Occurring immediately; immediate; present.
  6. Lasting for a short moment; momentary; short-lived.
  7. Very quickly and easily prepared.
  8. Of the current month.

adverb

  1. At once; immediately.

verb

  1. To urge, press (someone); to insist on, demand (something).

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,…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.