as in immediate
done or occurring without any noticeable lapse in time
the thunder following the flash of lightning was nearly instantaneous
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Recent Examples of instantaneous
Chinese diplomatic backlash was instantaneous, with one Chinese official based in Tokyo threatening to cut off her head for the disrespect of her comments.
—
Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 29 Dec. 2025
The chemistry was natural and instantaneous.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Dec. 2025
What made the Dončić–Davis trade such a bewildering spectacle, aside from the lack of draft picks Dallas received, was the stunning absence of this preamble, and the instantaneous, universal agreement that the Mavericks had been fleeced.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2025
There's a line in the movie where Godard says that the instantaneous and unexpected are excluded in formal narrative.
—Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 12 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instantaneous
Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 29 Dec. 2025
The chemistry was natural and instantaneous.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Dec. 2025
What made the Dončić–Davis trade such a bewildering spectacle, aside from the lack of draft picks Dallas received, was the stunning absence of this preamble, and the instantaneous, universal agreement that the Mavericks had been fleeced.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2025
There's a line in the movie where Godard says that the instantaneous and unexpected are excluded in formal narrative.
—Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 12 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instantaneous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instantaneous
Adjective
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Netflix’s fourth-quarter earnings call was a bounty of promises for new kinds of content on the streaming giant’s platform, even without immediate prospects of any new shows from its $83 billion bid for Warner Bros.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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Temperatures may dip below 10° outside of the beltway and low to mid-teens across the immediate metro.—
Steven Sosna,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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View gallery - 5 images Fujifilm's been in the instant shoot-and-print camera business for more than 25 years now, and its newest offering is a fun departure from its longstanding lineup.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
8 Jan. 2026
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The show premiered to instant acclaim, winning five 2025 Emmy Awards, and has already been renewed for a third season.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instantaneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instantaneous. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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