INSTANT • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Instant

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/ˈɪnstənt/ Listen

adjective

Instant adj.

Pressing; urgent; importunate; earnest. "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer." "I am beginning to be very instant for some sort of occupation."

Closely pressing or impending in respect to time; not deferred; immediate; without delay. "Impending death is thine, and instant doom."

Present; current. "The instant time is always the fittest time." Note: The word in this sense is now used only in dates, to indicate the current month; as, the tenth of July instant.

noun

Instant n.

A point in time; a moment; a portion of time too short to be estimated; also, any particular moment; as, teh situation may change in an instant. "There is scarce an instant between their flourishing and their not being."

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.

Synonyms: Moment; flash; second.

adverb

Instant adv. Instantly. (Poetic) "Instant he flew with hospitable haste."

See images of 'Instant'

Etymology of 'Instant'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Instant" Quotes from Famous Books

... the civil power, and such is therefore guilty of sedition. (John 19:12) "And he [Pilate] said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required." (Luke 23:22-24) Thus the civil power yielded to the importunities of ecclesiasticism, ...

— The Harp of God • J. F. Rutherford

... exposed position to the troops of his allies under the command of the king of Denkera. He concentrated his artillery upon the heaviest columns of the enemy; but still they came undaunted, bearing down upon the centre like an avalanche. Sir Charles made an attempt to retreat with his staff, but met instant death at the hands of the Ashantees. His head was removed from the body and sent to Kumasi. His heart was eaten by the chiefs of the army that they might imbibe his courage, while his flesh was dried and issued in small rations among the line-officers for the same purpose. His bones ...

— History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1 - Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens • George W. Williams

... made him stumble. He leaned far forward under his heavy burden. The falling shower scorched his bare arms and legs. Once a heavy stone struck him on his cushioned head, and he fell. But he was up in an instant. He looked around bewildered. His head was ringing. The air was hot and choking. The sun was gone. The shower was blinding. Whose house was this? The door stood open. The court was empty. Where was the city gate? Would he never get out? He did not ...

— Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae • Jennie Hall

... a start, which caused the chain around her waist to clank upon the wretched stool on which she sat. "Justice!" she cried in a tone of indignation. For a moment the earthly spirit revolted. But it gleamed only for an instant. "May God pardon my unjust judge the sins of his youth,"—she paused, and added, "as I forgive him my cruel death!" With these words, the last spark of angry feeling was extinguished for ever. "May God pardon him, as well as those who have thus cruelly witnessed against me; and ...

— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348 • Various

... For just an instant, he felt crushing pain, then the world dissolved into bright specks in a spreading blackness. One by one, the points of light winked out. And ...

— The Best Made Plans • Everett B. Cole

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