'Instant' definitions:
Definition of 'instant'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Occurring with no delay; "relief was instantaneous"; "instant gratification" [syn: instantaneous, instant(a)]
adjective
In or of the present month; "your letter of the 10th inst" [syn: instant, inst]
adjective
Demanding attention; "clamant needs"; "a crying need"; "regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous"- H.L.Mencken; "insistent hunger"; "an instant need" [syn: clamant, crying, exigent, insistent, instant]
noun
A very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat); "if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash" [syn: blink of an eye, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink, New York minute]
noun
Definition of 'Instant'
From: GCIDE
- Instant \In"stant\, a. [L. instans, -antis, p. pr. of instare to stand upon, to press upon; pref. in- in, on + stare to stand: cf. F. instant. See Stand.] [1913 Webster]
- 1. Pressing; urgent; importunate; earnest. [1913 Webster]
- Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. --Rom. xii. 12. [1913 Webster]
- I am beginning to be very instant for some sort of occupation. --Carlyle. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Closely pressing or impending in respect to time; not deferred; immediate; without delay. [1913 Webster]
- Impending death is thine, and instant doom. --Prior. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Present; current. [1913 Webster]
- The instant time is always the fittest time. --Fuller. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The word in this sense is now used only in dates, to indicate the current month; as, the tenth of July instant. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Instant'
From: GCIDE
- Instant \In"stant\, adv. Instantly. [Poetic] [1913 Webster]
- Instant he flew with hospitable haste. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Instant'
From: GCIDE
- Instant \In"stant\, n. [F. instant, fr. L. instans standing by, being near, present. See Instant, a.] [1913 Webster]
- 1. A point in time; a moment; a portion of time too short to be estimated; also, any particular moment; as, the situation may change in an instant. [1913 Webster +PJC]
- There is scarce an instant between their flourishing and their not being. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A day of the present or current month; as, the sixth instant; -- an elliptical expression equivalent to the sixth of the month instant, i. e., the current month. See Instant, a., 3.
- Syn: Moment; flash; second. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'instant'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- a breath,
- about to be,
- actual,
- acute,
- alert,
- already in sight,
- approaching,
- apt,
- as is,
- at hand,
- being,
- bit,
- breath,
- breathing,
- brewing,
- burning,
- clamant,
- clamorous,
- close,
- close at hand,
- coming,
- compelling,
- contemporaneous,
- contemporary,
- coup,
- crack,
- critical,
- crucial,
- crying,
- current,
- cursory,
- day,
- decisive,
- demanding,
- dire,
- direct,
- draining,
- earnest,
- exacting,
- exigent,
- existent,
- existing,
- exorbitant,
- expeditious,
- extant,
- extortionate,
- fateful moment,
- festinate,
- feverish,
- flash,
- flying,
- forthcoming,
- fresh,
- furious,
- future,
- gathering,
- going to happen,
- grasping,
- hair-trigger,
- half a jiffy,
- half a mo,
- half a second,
- half a shake,
- hasty,
- high-pressure,
- high-priority,
- hour,
- hurried,
- immanent,
- immediate,
- imminent,
- impendent,
- impending,
- imperative,
- imperious,
- importunate,
- in danger imminent,
- in prospect,
- in reserve,
- in store,
- in the cards,
- in the offing,
- in the wind,
- in view,
- insistent,
- instantaneous,
- interval,
- jiff,
- jiffy,
- juncture,
- kairos,
- last-minute,
- latest,
- lightning-like,
- little,
- little bit,
- little while,
- looming,
- loud,
- lowering,
- lurking,
- menacing,
- microsecond,
- millisecond,
- minute,
- modern,
- moment,
- moment of truth,
- momentaneous,
- momentary,
- near,
- near at hand,
- nearing,
- new,
- no time,
- on the horizon,
- on the spot,
- overhanging,
- overnight,
- pair of winks,
- passing,
- period,
- persistent,
- pertinacious,
- pivotal,
- point,
- pregnant moment,
- prepared,
- preparing,
- present,
- present-age,
- present-day,
- present-time,
- pressing,
- presto,
- prompt,
- psychological moment,
- punctual,
- quick,
- quick as lightning,
- quick as thought,
- ready,
- ready-made,
- ready-mixed,
- running,
- season,
- sec,
- second,
- shake,
- short spell,
- short time,
- slap-bang,
- slapdash,
- small space,
- snap,
- space,
- span,
- speedy,
- spell,
- split second,
- spurt,
- stage,
- stretch,
- stroke,
- summary,
- superficial,
- swift,
- taxing,
- that be,
- that is,
- that will be,
- threatening,
- tick,
- time,
- time lag,
- to come,
- topical,
- trice,
- twink,
- twinkle,
- twinkling,
- twitch,
- two shakes,
- up-to-date,
- up-to-the-minute,
- upcoming,
- urgent,
- waiting,
- while,
- wink