INSTANT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does instant mean? 

• INSTANT (noun)
  The noun INSTANT has 2 senses:

1. a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)

2. a particular point in time

  Familiarity information: INSTANT used as a noun is rare.

• INSTANT (adjective)
  The adjective INSTANT has 3 senses:

1. occurring with no delay

2. in or of the present month

3. demanding attention

  Familiarity information: INSTANT used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSTANT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

blink of an eye; flash; heartbeat; instant; jiffy; New York minute; split second; trice; twinkling; wink

Context example:

if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash

Hypernyms ("instant" is a kind of...):

bit; minute; mo; moment; second (an indefinitely short time)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A particular point in time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

instant; minute; moment; second

Context example:

the moment he arrived the party began

Hypernyms ("instant" is a kind of...):

point; point in time (an instant of time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "instant"):

climax; culmination (the decisive moment in a novel or play)

eleventh hour; last minute (the latest possible moment)

moment of truth (a crucial moment on which much depends)

moment of truth (the moment in a bullfight when the matador kills the bull)

pinpoint (a very brief moment)

time (a suitable moment)

psychological moment (the most appropriate time for achieving a desired effect)

Derivation:

instantaneous (occurring with no delay)

• INSTANT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Occurring with no delay

Synonyms:

instant; instantaneous

Context example:

instant gratification

Similar:

fast (acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly)

Derivation:

instancy (the quickness of action or occurrence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In or of the present month

Synonyms:

inst; instant

Context example:

your letter of the 10th inst

Similar:

present (temporal sense; intermediate between past and future; now existing or happening or in consideration)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Demanding attention

Synonyms:

clamant; crying; exigent; insistent; instant

Context example:

an instant need

Similar:

imperative (requiring attention or action)

Derivation:

instancy (the quality of being insistent)

 Context examples 

And then, where a vagrant shaft of sunlight struck the ocean and turned its surface to wrathful silver, I caught a small black speck thrust skyward for an instant and swallowed up.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

In an instant he had passed his arm round the figure and raised her to a sitting position.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His face was turned from us, but the instant we saw we all recognised the Count—in every way, even to the scar on his forehead.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It was all done in an instant, and there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady on the other, while the clergyman beamed on me in front.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The scar sprung into view that instant.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He rushed, as though attempting the old shoulder trick, but at the last instant swept low to the snow and in.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

“Ha!” cried Edward, reining up for an instant his powerful black steed.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Without stopping an instant the fierce beasts also began to cross the tree.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

“Idiot that I was! I thought so much of our visit that the paper never entered my head for an instant. To be sure, the secret must be there.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At that instant the cottage door was opened, and Felix, Safie, and Agatha entered.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)