instant

Pluralinstants

Formsinstants, instanting, instanted

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A very short period of time; a fleeting moment.

   In that instant, everything changed for the young couple.

   She made the whole decision in a single instant.

   Similarmoment, second, flash, jiffy, twinkling

   Note

   The everyday noun, and the one nearest its roots: Latin īnstāns meant "standing near," hence "present" or "at hand," and an instant is the sliver of time right at hand. It usually comes inside a phrase, as in for an instant or in an instant, naming a span you can pause through. Flash, jiffy and eyeblink do the same work more casually. The "pressing, urgent" side of the Latin resurfaces in the older adjectives.

2. 2
   adjective

   Quickly and easily prepared, usually needing only hot water or brief heating.

   Backpackers rely on instant meals that need only boiling water.

   He keeps a jar of instant coffee for busy mornings.

   Similarquick, ready-made, precooked

   Oppositefresh

3. 3
   adjective

   Happening or produced immediately, without any delay.

   Online banking offers instant transfers between accounts.

   The medicine brought instant relief from the pain.

   Similarimmediate, instantaneous, present

   Oppositedelayed, gradual, slow

   Note

   The modern adjective of speed, at home in fixed pairings such as instant dismissal, instant relief and instant cult status, where the result follows without a gap. Thomas Fuller's Good Thoughts in Bad Times (1645) shows the older shade: "the instant time is always the fittest time" means the present time. Instantaneous is the more formal near-synonym, suited to technical descriptions.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A particular moment, usually one that can be pinpointed exactly.

   The camera captures the precise instant a drop hits the water.

   At that instant, the two signals lined up perfectly.

   Similarmoment, minute

   Note

   Here the word names a point, not a span, and it takes on a grammatical job of its own. In the instant the alarm went off, the whole phrase works like a conjunction meaning "as soon as." Moment and minute fit the same slot (the moment he arrived). The contrast with the brief stretch of time is the difference between pausing for an instant and fixing the exact instant something happened.

5. 5
   adjective

   Over almost as soon as it begins; momentary or fleeting.

   There was an instant hush before the orchestra began to play.

   His instant flash of anger passed before anyone noticed.

   Similarbrief, short, momentary, fleeting, passing

   Oppositelasting, prolonged, enduring

6. 6
   noununcountable

   A food or drink pre-processed to cut down preparation time, especially instant coffee.

   Most campers pack instant rather than grinding their own beans.

   He stirred a spoonful of instant into the hot water.

7. 7
   nounabbreviationellipsis

   Short for instant camera.

   Photographers still love the look an instant produces.

   She pulled out an instant and snapped a quick photo.

   Note

   A clipped compound: the head noun camera drops away and the modifier carries the whole meaning, the same move that turns instant coffee into the food-and-drink noun. The clipped form is an ordinary countable noun, with the plural instants. Because the two clippings share a spelling, context does the disambiguating: you pack an instant for a party, and you stir instant into hot water.

8. 8
   adjective

   Of the case, matter, or document presently under consideration.

   Counsel argued that the instant case fell outside the statute.

   The court distinguished the instant matter from the cited precedent.

   Similarpresent, current

   Note

   Lawyers use it to point at the matter in hand: the instant case, the instant offense, the instant motion. Only the matter currently before the court qualifies, as opposed to any precedent or earlier incident under discussion. It always stands before the noun and has nothing to do with speed. Outside legal writing it can puzzle readers, so plain prose prefers present or this.

9. 9
   adverbliterary

   Immediately; without any delay.

   And instant the storm broke upon the shore.

   She answered instant, before the question was even done.

   Similarimmediately, directly, forthwith

   Oppositelater, eventually

   Note

   An adverb without the -ly, kept for verse and elevated narrative. Byron's Don Juan (1819) has "And Julia instant to the closet flew," with the word placed before the verb it hurries along. The short form suits meter. In ordinary prose it reads as either archaic or a mistake, so write instantly or at once instead.

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