instantaneous

English

Etymology

New Latin, 17th century

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪniəs

Adjective

instantaneous (not comparable)

1. Occurring, arising, or functioning without any delay; happening within an imperceptibly brief period of time.
   • 1631, William Twisse, A discovery of D. Iacksons vanitie, ch. 6, p. 223,

     This instantaneous motion is supposed by you, to be infinitely swift.

   • 1766, Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield, ch. 14.

     However, no lovers in romance ever cemented a more instantaneous friendship.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, ch. 57,

     The colour now rushed into Elizabeth's cheeks in the instantaneous conviction of its being a letter from the nephew.

   • 1907, Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent, ch. 4,

     It's the principle of the pneumatic instantaneous shutter for a camera lens.

   • 2007, Spector jury given graphic account of actress 'murder' Times Online, London, 30 May (retrieved 13 July 2007),

     He said that the bullet went through her head, severed her spine and death would have been almost instantaneous.

Synonyms

• instant

Derived terms

• instantaneously
• instantaneity

Translations

occurring, arising, or functioning without any delay; happening within an imperceptibly brief period of time

• Armenian: վայրկենական (hy) (vayrkenakan), րոպեական (hy) (ropeakan)
• Catalan: instantani (ca)
• Finnish: välitön, silmänräpäyksellinen, äkillinen, hetkellinen (fi)
• French: instantané (fr)
• German: augenblicklich (de)

• Hungarian: pillanatnyi (hu), azonnali (hu)
• Italian: istantaneo (it)
• Malay: seketika (ms)
• Russian: мгновенный (ru) (mgnovénnyj), моментальный (ru) (momentálʹnyj)
• Spanish: instantáneo (es)
• Swedish: omedelbar (sv), ögonblicklig (sv)

References

• “instantaneous” in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• instantaneous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “instantaneous” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "instantaneous" in Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation.
• "instantaneous" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2007.
• "instantaneous" in Compact Oxford English Dictionary, © Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.