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5 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Instant \In"stant\, adjective [L. instans, -antis, p. pr. of instare to stand upon, to press upon; pref. in- in, on + stare to stand: cf. F. instant. See {Stand}.]
1. Pressing; urgent; importunate; earnest.
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. --Rom. xii. 12.
I am beginning to be very instant for some sort of occupation. --Carlyle.
2. Closely pressing or impending in respect to time; not deferred; immediate; without delay.
Impending death is thine, and instant doom. --Prior.
3. Present; current.
The instant time is always the fittest time. --Fuller.
Note: The word in this sense is now used only in dates, to indicate the current month; as, the tenth of July instant.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Instant \In"stant\, adverb Instantly. [Poetic]
Instant he flew with hospitable haste. --Pope.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Instant \In"stant\, noun [F. instant, fr. L. instans standing by, being near, present. See {Instant}, adjective]
1. A point in time; a moment; a portion of time too short to be estimated; also, any particular moment; as, teh situation may change in an instant. [1913 Webster +PJC]
There is scarce an instant between their flourishing and their not being. --Hooker.
2. A day of the present or current month; as, the sixth instant; -- an elliptical expression equivalent to the sixth of the month instant, i. e., the current month. See {Instant}, adjective, 3.
Syn: Moment; flash; second.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
instant
adjective
1: occurring with no delay; "relief was instantaneous"; "instant gratification" [syn: {instantaneous}, {instant(a)}]
2: in or of the present month; "your letter of the 10th inst" [syn: {inst}]
3: demanding attention; "clamant needs"; "a crying need"; "regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous"- H.L.Mencken; "insistent hunger"; "an instant need" [syn: {clamant}, {crying}, {exigent}, {insistent}]
noun
1: a very short time (as the time it takes the eye blink or the heart to beat); "if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash" [syn: {blink of an eye}, {flash}, {heartbeat}, {jiffy}, {split second}, {trice}, {twinkling}, {wink}, {New York minute}]
2: a particular point in time; "the moment he arrived the party began" [syn: {moment}, {minute}, {second}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
190 Moby Thesaurus words for "instant": a breath, about to be, actual, acute, alert, already in sight, approaching, apt, as is, at hand, being, bit, breath, breathing, brewing, burning, clamant, clamorous, close, close at hand, coming, compelling, contemporaneous, contemporary, coup, crack, critical, crucial, crying, current, cursory, day, decisive, demanding, dire, direct, draining, earnest, exacting, exigent, existent, existing, exorbitant, expeditious, extant, extortionate, fateful moment, festinate, feverish, flash, flying, forthcoming, fresh, furious, future, gathering, going to happen, grasping, hair-trigger, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, hasty, high-pressure, high-priority, hour, hurried, immanent, immediate, imminent, impendent, impending, imperative, imperious, importunate, in danger imminent, in prospect, in reserve, in store, in the cards, in the offing, in the wind, in view, insistent, instantaneous, interval, jiff, jiffy, juncture, kairos, last-minute, latest, lightning-like, little, little bit, little while, looming, loud, lowering, lurking, menacing, microsecond, millisecond, minute, modern, moment, moment of truth, momentaneous, momentary, near, near at hand, nearing, new, no time, on the horizon, on the spot, overhanging, overnight, pair of winks, passing, period, persistent, pertinacious, pivotal, point, pregnant moment, prepared, preparing, present, present-age, present-day, present-time, pressing, presto, prompt, psychological moment, punctual, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought, ready, ready-made, ready-mixed, running, season, sec, second, shake, short spell, short time, slap-bang, slapdash, small space, snap, space, span, speedy, spell, split second, spurt, stage, stretch, stroke, summary, superficial, swift, taxing, that be, that is, that will be, threatening, tick, time, time lag, to come, topical, trice, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch, two shakes, up-to-date, up-to-the-minute, upcoming, urgent, waiting, while, wink
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. Audio provided by one of our generous visitors. - KM |