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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Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said the aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130, went down moments after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, near the Peru border.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
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The End is the final chapter of that journey — a definitive send-off to a format that helped launch careers, produced countless iconic comedy moments, and proved that audiences hunger for authentic, unscripted storytelling.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Jalen Smith, who was listed as questionable after missing the Bulls' last game with an ankle injury, tied his season high in points and finished with six rebounds and two blocks off the bench despite being limited to 26 minutes.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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Roughly 20 minutes later, the controller appeared to blame himself.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Your dinner plates will be scraped clean even faster, ready for seconds.—
Hana Asbrink,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
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Iowa’s All-Big Ten point guard Bennett Stirtiz missed a driving layup off the backboard with 11 seconds to go and his team trailing 71-70.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Find your pulse and count 20 heartbeats.—
Vicki Glembocki,
Parents,
1 Mar. 2026
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That grandiosity simmers down into terrifying chase soundtracks and menacing hunter's heartbeats as the movie continues, but the after-image of those glorious strings lingers through the rest of the franchise.—
Alex Galbraith,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instants. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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