instantaneous

adjective

in·stan·ta·neous | \ ˌin(t)-stən-ˈtā-nē-əs

, -nyəs\

Definition of instantaneous

1 : done, occurring, or acting without any perceptible duration of time death was instantaneous

2 : done without any delay being purposely introduced took instantaneous corrective action

3 : occurring or present at a particular instant instantaneous velocity

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Other Words from instantaneous

instantaneity \ ˌin-ˌstan-tə-ˈnē-ə-tē

, ˌin(t)-stən-tə-ˈnē- \ noun

instantaneously \ ˌin(t)-stən-ˈtā-nē-əs-lē

, -nyəs-lē \ adverb

instantaneousness noun

Examples of instantaneous in a Sentence

We got an almost instantaneous response from the company. the thunder following the flash of lightning was nearly instantaneous

Recent Examples on the Web

Both kits work indicate lead by changing colors, which makes results instantaneous and easy-to-read. — Timothy Dahl, Popular Mechanics, "How to Test for Lead Paint in Your Home," 22 Apr. 2016 Rather than being instantaneous like a bullet, the beam has to stay focused on the drone for a period of time to melt or burn it enough to bring it down. — David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, "What Are Airports Going to Do About Drones?," 9 Jan. 2019 There's not much to learn for CoD's faithful (beyond holding the crouch button longer to go prone), and that familiarity and popularity hasn't hurt the beta period's nearly instantaneous queue fills. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Call of Duty battle royale beta: Surprisingly tame, surprisingly solid," 12 Sep. 2018 Seriously, throw one on under a dress, under a jacket, under a chunky sweater – instantaneous style. — Kelsey Stiegman, Seventeen, "10 Instagram-Worthy Ways to Wear Boyfriend Jeans," 8 Jan. 2019 Sprinkle the fibers onto sparse areas of your hair and voila—an instantaneous transformation. — Jaime Osnato, SELF, "10 Styling Hacks to Create Thicker-Looking Hair," 5 Jan. 2019 Electric motors produce instantaneous torque, pretty much the opposite of the dicey delay once associated with old-school turbocharged engines. — Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, "Porsche's latest Panamera offers a tantalizing peek at the coming Taycan electric sedan," 8 June 2018 For a splash of jewel tones, in came Italian Moroso dining chairs—tubular, geometric, and another instantaneous yes. — Jennifer Blaise Kramer, House Beautiful, "How Pops Of Color Transformed These Classic White Rooms," 17 Dec. 2018 The company has an instantaneous launch window, too, so the rocket must take off at that exact time or launch another day. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Watch SpaceX launch thousands of pounds of cargo and experiments to the International Space Station," 5 Dec. 2018

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