momentarily

English

Etymology

momentary +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈməʊmɛntɛɹɪlɪi/

Adverb

momentarily (not comparable)

1. In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.
2. (US, proscribed) In a moment or very soon; any minute now, any time now.
   • 1880, Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ, chapter 3.

     He told me, further, that the second coming was at hand--was looked for momentarily in Jerusalem.

   This plane will be landing at Idlewild Airport momentarily.

3. 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”.

Synonyms

• (in a moment): presently, shortly, soon
• (for a moment): briefly
• (moment by moment): progressively

Translations

In a momentary manner

• Dutch: even (nl)
• Finnish: hetkeksi, hetkellisesti
• German: momentan (de)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: momentant

  Nynorsk: momentant

• Polish: chwilowo (pl)

In a moment or very soon

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

• Norwegian: straks (no), veldig snart, veldig snart, øyeblikkelig (no), straks (no), straks (no)
• Russian: вско́ре (ru) (vskóre)

progressively; moment by moment

References