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imminent. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
imminent, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
imminent in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
imminent you have here. The definition of the word
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imminent, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From the present participle of Latin imminēre (“to overhang”), from mineō ("to project, overhang"), related to minae (English menace) and mons (English mount). Compare with eminent.
Pronunciation
Adjective
imminent (comparative more imminent, superlative most imminent)
- About to happen, occur, or take place very soon, especially of something which won't last long.
1927, Whitney v. California:To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion.
2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42:The Second World War was reaching fever pitch, with the entire Allied effort in top gear for the imminent invasion of Europe, while later that month buzz bombs would start falling on London.
Usage notes
- Imminent and eminent are very similar sounds, and are weak rhymes; in dialects with the pin-pen merger, these become homophones. A typo of either word may result in a correction to the wrong word by spellchecking software. Imminent is also sometimes confused with immanent (which see).
- Said of danger, threat and death.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
about to happen, occur, or take place very soon
- Arabic: وَشِيك m (wašīk)
- Belarusian: надыхо́дзячы (nadyxódzjačy), неміну́чы (be) (njeminúčy) (inevitable), неадхі́льны (njeadxílʹny) (inevitable), няўхі́льны (njaŭxílʹny) (inevitable)
- Bulgarian: предстоя́щ (bg) (predstojášt), немину́ем (bg) (neminúem)
- Catalan: imminent (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 即將來臨 / 即将来临 (zh) (jíjiāng láilín)
- Czech: bezprostřední (cs)
- Dutch: imminent (nl), dreigend (nl)
- Finnish: tuleva (fi)
- French: imminent (fr)
- Galician: inminente
- German: bevorstehend (de)
- Greek: επικείμενος (el) m (epikeímenos)
- Ido: minac-anta
- Italian: imminente (it)
- Japanese: please add this translation if you can
- Korean: 절박한 (jeolbakhan), 절박하다 (jeolbakhada)
- Latvian: draudošs m, nenovēršams m, gaidāms m
- Maori: raraka (refers to misfortune)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: nært forestående, umiddelbart forestående, overhengende
- Persian: قریبالوقوع (qarib-ol-voqu')
- Plautdietsch: dreiwent
- Polish: bliski (pl), nadciągający
- Portuguese: iminente (pt)
- Romanian: iminent (ro) m
- Russian: предстоя́щий (ru) (predstojáščij), надвига́ющийся (ru) (nadvigájuščijsja), немину́емый (ru) (neminújemyj) (inevitable), неизбе́жный (ru) (neizbéžnyj) (inevitable)
- Sanskrit: भविष्य (sa) (bhaviṣya)
- Serbo-Croatian: iminentno, neminovno (sh), neizbježno (sh), neposredno (sh), prestojeće
- Spanish: inminente (es)
- Swedish: nära förestående, överhängande (sv)
- Ukrainian: немину́чий (nemynúčyj) (inevitable)
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Further reading
- “imminent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “imminent”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “imminent”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin imminentem (“projecting, overhanging; threatening, menacing”).
Adjective
imminent m or f (masculine and feminine plural imminents)
- imminent
Derived terms
Further reading
French
Etymology
From Latin imminentem.
Pronunciation
Adjective
imminent (feminine imminente, masculine plural imminents, feminine plural imminentes)
- imminent
Derived terms
Further reading
Latin
Verb
imminent
- third-person plural present active indicative of immineō