INSTANTS Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

instants

noun

plural of instant

as in moments

a very small space of time it all happened in an instant

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of instants These days, the shows are bigger and the tickets sell out in instants, filling theaters around the country with concertgoers whose response to Geese’s music can best be described as rabid ecstasy. — Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2026 Recent instants, according to the company, will be saved in an archive that's private and only accessible to the user who takes it. — Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 13 May 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instants

Noun

That night’s show was reduced from 29 to 19 songs, between the concert running late from the interruption and Toomey likely not being able to duplicate Castronovo’s lead singing moments as well as his drumming.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
From its opening moments, Zoe Kazan’s epic, sprawling Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, East of Eden, announces that the monstrous Cathy Ames (played by Florence Pugh) is the true center of the story.

— Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of moments

Noun

Slemmer was beaten and cut with a meat cleaver and a box cutter for somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
According to Rubin, online criticisms against the store emerged 15 minutes after Clarkson left the store.

— Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of minutes

Noun

The fastest breakout was 27 seconds, and one intrusion reached full data exfiltration in four minutes.

— Asaf Wiener, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Mahomes spent roughly a dozen seconds venting about a topic neither of them want to detail now, before Eric Bieniemy nodded his head.

— Sam McDowell October 16, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of seconds

Browse Nearby Words

instantly

instants

instate

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Instants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instants. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of instants

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

syncretic

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes