instant

noun in·stant \ ˈin(t)-stənt \

|Updated on: 21 Aug 2018

Examples: instant in a Sentence

Definition of instant

1 : an infinitesimal space of time; especially : a point in time separating two states

at the instant of death

2 : the present or current month

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See instant defined for kids

Examples of instant in a Sentence

For an instant, I forgot where I was.
The ride was over in an instant.

Recent Examples of instant from the Web

But my decision to care for him at home was made in an instant.

— judith newman, New York Times, "He’s Going Back to His Former Wife. Sort Of.," 29 June 2018
That can change course in an instant, but plans seem angled toward sensible hockey moves for today’s game that values skating.

— curtis zupke, latimes.com, "Kings and Ducks will explore free-agent market to build around their star players," 1 July 2018
Your country’s fate, for good or ill, can change in an instant.

— sean gregory, Time, "Iceland's Big Loss to Nigeria Just Pushed the World Cup Drama to 11," 22 June 2018
Computers that will work so quickly that the speed of disruption in any industry could happen not in decades, years, or even months, but rather, in an instant.

— nick bilton, The Hive, "“Threats,” “Ultimatums,” and “Espionage”: Inside Silicon Valley’s Spy Wars," 13 Apr. 2018
This can get tragic in an instant; between 1990 and 2015, 271 children died after being hospitalized due to this kind of entanglement, according to the report.

— carolyn l. todd, SELF, "Emergency Responders Share 9 of the Biggest Death Traps in Your Home," 14 July 2018
All undone in an instant, for no other reason than the whim of a rich, entitled monster.

— umair irfan, Vox, "The BP oil spill led to new protections for US waters. Trump repealed them.," 22 June 2018
But all that preparation can dissolve in an instant.

— gregory korte, USA TODAY, "A brief history of summits: How face-to-face meetings of world leaders shapes the world order," 11 June 2018
The Big Bang is the singular cataclysmic event that started it all: the instant 13.8 billion years ago that marked the fiery birth of the universe.

— dan falk /, NBC News, "What is the Big Bang theory?," 9 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'instant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of instant

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin instant-, instans, from instant-, instans, adjective, instant, from Latin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

instant Synonyms

instant

adjective

Definition of instant

1 : produced or occurring with or as if with extreme rapidity and ease

2 : immediate, direct

the play was an instant success

3 a (1) : premixed or precooked for easy final preparation

instant pudding

(2) : appearing in or as if in ready-to-use form

instant poetry

b : immediately soluble in water

instant coffee

4 a : present, current

previous felonies not related to the instant crime

b : of or occurring in the present month —abbreviation inst

5 : importunate, urgent

—

instantness

noun

See instant defined for English-language learners

Examples of instant in a Sentence

The movie was an instant hit.
He became an instant celebrity with the publication of his first novel.
We got an instant response from the company.
The Internet provides instant access to an enormous amount of information.
Is this coffee instant or regular?

Recent Examples of instant from the Web

Now, with a $10 monthly payment (or no payment at all if ads don’t bother you), a Spotify subscriber gets instant access to roughly 35 million songs.

— john kehe, The Christian Science Monitor, "How streaming is saving the music business," 3 July 2018
Their duets don't convince us of their instant attraction or deepening love; Diamond struggles to master Mimi's demanding part, sounding strained and flat.

— andrea simakis, cleveland.com, "'Rent' 20th anniversary tour lacks the heat and heart of Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking epic (review)," 9 Mar. 2018
The tabletop device is also capable of doing instant blood analyses like white blood cell counts and hemoglobin measurements, which could mean blood samples don’t need to be sent away to a lab.

— emily matchar, Smithsonian, "A Robot May One Day Draw Your Blood," 13 July 2018
Down the hall, a boss of an Icelandic yogurt firm says running instant focus groups on new flavours in the lounge speeds product development.

— The Economist, "Big corporates’ quest to be hip is helping WeWork," 12 July 2018
But just as a juicy Big Mac delivers instant satisfaction but long-term negative consequences, so can scrubs.

— ashley weatherford, The Cut, "Are You Exfoliating Your Face Wrong?," 11 July 2018
There was instant alarm—from the National Education Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, PTA groups.

— sam tanenhaus, Town & Country, "Can Chris Whittle Launch a Truly Global School?," 10 July 2018
There are few things that deliver such instant satisfaction as longer, darker lashes.

— lindsay schallon, Glamour, "The Best Waterproof Mascaras, According to Glamour Editors," 10 July 2018
Today, in fact, the country has the 12th largest instant noodle market in the world, with 1.76 billion servings of the starchy stuff sold here each year.

— ryan lenora brown, The Christian Science Monitor, "What noodles can teach us about Nigeria's reluctance on free trade," 9 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of instant

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin instant-, instans, from present participle of instare to stand upon, urge, from in- + stare to stand — more at stand

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 5

See Words from the same year

instant Synonyms

Synonyms

acute, burning, compelling, critical, crying, dire, emergent, exigent, imperative, imperious, importunate, necessitous, pressing, urgent;

Antonyms

noncritical, nonurgent;

Near Antonyms

incidental, low-pressure, minor, negligible, trivial, unimportant;

nonthreatening, safe, stable;

crucial, desperate, grave, life-and-death (also life-or-death), serious, severe, vital;

dangerous, explosive, hazardous, perilous, precarious, unstable;

INSTANT Defined for English Language Learners

instant

noun

Definition of instant for English Language Learners

: a very short period of time

instant

adjective

Definition of instant for English Language Learners

: becoming something very quickly
: happening or done without delay
of food : able to be made very quickly : partially prepared by the manufacturer so that final preparation is quick and easy