as in moments
a very small space of time
it all happened in an instant
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Recent Examples of instants
Elle has become a collector of sounds, wandering the city with a pocket recorder in hand, creating what are, in effect, sonic images of instants stretched out into time.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instants
Noun
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And while their steamy, sweaty dalliances are hot and heavy (albeit mostly clothed), most swoonworthy are the smaller moments, like Heathcliff gently cupping his hands to keep the rain out of Cathy’s eyes.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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Writing is taking moments in time and recording them.—
Daisy Jones,
Vogue,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Duren had the ball and was driving toward the basket with just over seven minutes left in the third period when he was fouled by Diabate.—
Steve Reed,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
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The tense conversation continued for several minutes before a peculiar discrepancy popped up.—
J.C. Hallman,
Oklahoman,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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After Donovyn Hunter's driving layup gave TCU a 79-77 lead with five seconds remaining, Masogayo took a sideline inbounds pass, drove the right side of the lane and made a short bank shot to tie the score.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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On first and goal from the Patriots’ one-yard line with 26 seconds remaining, Wilson’s pass for Ricardo Lockette was intercepted by Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler to seal the win for New England.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Diastolic blood pressure is the bottom number on a blood pressure reading, which represents the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.—
Sarah Bence,
Verywell Health,
20 Jan. 2026
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The ability to continuously track a patient’s blood pressure, glucose or heartbeats can help doctors and caregivers keep them stable and avert crises.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instants. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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