Synonyms of instant

instant 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in instantaneous

done or occurring without any noticeable lapse in time

an instant response to the cry for help

Synonyms & Similar Words

• instantaneous
• immediate
• split-second
• rapid
• summary
• straightaway
• quick
• swift
• speedy
• prompt
• fast
• hit-and-run

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slow
• prolonged
• sluggish
• protracted
• tardy
• deferred
• dilatory
• delayed

2

as in urgent

needing immediate attention

an instant need for food supplies in the famine-stricken country

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urgent
• acute
• pressing
• intense
• compelling
• emergent
• critical
• dire
• crying
• immediate
• imperative
• desperate
• exigent
• serious
• importunate
• burning
• imperious
• clamant
• extreme
• crucial
• insistent
• necessitous
• overriding
• demanding
• dangerous
• life-and-death
• hazardous
• explosive
• severe
• vital
• precarious
• perilous
• grave
• unstable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• minor
• trivial
• negligible
• incidental
• unimportant
• stable
• safe
• low-pressure
• noncritical
• nonurgent
• nonthreatening

3

as in current

existing or in progress right now

we should be more concerned with instant dangers than with those in the far-off future

Synonyms & Similar Words

• current
• present
• immediate
• ongoing
• recent
• existing
• new
• existent
• extant
• present-day
• modern
• contemporary
• newfangled
• up-to-date
• modernistic
• ultramodern
• being
• breathing
• mod
• new-fashioned
• red-hot
• supermodern
• space-age
• living

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• future
• coming
• unborn
• over
• terminated
• through
• up
• finished
• ended
• completed
• old
• obsolete
• ancient
• concluded
• old-time
• old-fashioned
• done
• antiquated
• archaic
• past
• antique
• antediluvian
• out-of-date
• dated
• former
• outworn
• bygone
• erstwhile
• musty
• passé
• noncontemporary
• fusty
• oldfangled
• ago

instant

2 of 2

noun

ˈin(t)-stənt 

as in minute

a very small space of time

it all happened in an instant

Synonyms & Similar Words

• minute
• second
• moment
• heartbeat
• jiffy
• nanosecond
• trice
• split second
• flash
• twinkling
• twinkle
• wink
• shake
• eyeblink
• jiff
• beat
• microsecond
• New York minute
• spurt
• snatch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• age
• eternity
• forever
• lifetime
• eon
• infinity

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of instant

Adjective

College graduates and current undergrads know how much of a life- and money-saver instant ramen can be, and now a new noodle kit promises to make students' lives even easier. — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

Social media’s instant rejection of Netflix’s Qwikster spinoff, for instance, forced the company to scuttle that bad idea almost immediately after it was introduced in 2011. — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026

Noun

The growth of instant commerce has changed consumer expectations well beyond retail. — Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Fauci came across as a remarkable narcissist, someone obsessed with his own instant and surprising fame. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026