instantaneous

English

Etymology

From New Latin īnstāntāneus, from Latin īnstantem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnstənˈteɪni.əs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪniəs

Adjective

instantaneous (not comparable)

1. Occurring, arising, or functioning without any delay; happening within an imperceptibly brief period of time.

   Synonyms: immediate, instant; see also Thesaurus:instantaneous

   • 1631, William Twisse, chapter VI, in A Discovery of D. Iacksons vanitie, page 223:

     This instantaneous motion is supposed by you, to be infinitely swift.

   • 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], “Fresh Mortifications, or a Demonstration that Seeming Calamities may be Real Blessings”, in The Vicar of Wakefield: , volume I, Salisbury, Wiltshire: B. Collins, for F Newbery, , →OCLC; reprinted London: Elliot Stock, 1885, →OCLC, page 137:

     However, no lovers in romance ever cemented a more inſtantaneous friendſhip.

   • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XV, in Pride and Prejudice: , volume III, London: for T Egerton, , →OCLC, page 262:

     The colour now rushed into Elizabeth's cheeks in the instantaneous conviction of its being a letter from the nephew, instead of the aunt; [...]

   • 1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter IV, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale, London: Methuen & Co., , published 1907, →OCLC; The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright edition, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1907, →OCLC, pages 68–69:

     I walk always with my right hand closed round the india-rubber ball which I have in my trouser pocket. The pressing of this ball actuates a detonator inside the flask I carry in my pocket. It's the principle of the pneumatic instantaneous shutter for a camera lens.

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 129:

     The penis is the perfectly obvious and natural symbol of instantaneous time.

   • 2007 May 30, “Spector jury given graphic account of actress ‘murder’”, in The Times‎, London, retrieved 13 July 2007:

     He said that the bullet went through her head, severed her spine and death would have been almost instantaneous.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• instantaneous in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• “instantaneous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “instantaneous”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "instantaneous" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• "instantaneous" in Compact Oxford English Dictionary, (Oxford University Press, 2007)
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)