momentarily

English

Etymology

From momentary + -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈməʊmɛntɛɹɪlɪi/ X-SAMPA: /"m@UmEntErIli:/

Adverb

momentarily (not comparable)

1. In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.
2. (US) In a moment or very soon; at any moment.
3. Progressively; moment by moment.

Translations

In a momentary manner

• Dutch: even (nl)
• Finnish: hetkeksi (fi), hetkellisesti (fi)

• Polish: chwilowo (pl)

In a moment or very soon

• Dutch: zo (nl)
• Finnish: koska hyvänsä, millä hetkellä hyvänsä

• Norwegian: straks (no), veldig snart (no), veldig snart (no), øyeblikkelig (no), straks (no), straks (no)
• Russian: вскоре (ru) (vskore)

progressively; moment by moment

Usage notes

• Many speakers object to the use of momentarily in the sense of “in a moment” rather than “for a moment”, since this is inconsistent with the meaning of momentary; nonetheless, this use is quite common in North America, and is particularly associated with airlines, such as “we will be landing momentarily”. In place of momentarily, many speakers prefer the terms presently, soon or the phrase “in a moment”, for this sense of “in a moment”.

References