imminent

adjective

im·mi·nent ˈi-mə-nənt How to pronounce imminent (audio)

: ready to take place : happening soon

… systems engineers have become rather blasé about the imminent liftoff.

Steven L. Thompson

—often used of something bad or dangerous seen as menacingly near

imminent disasterLike books, board games appear headed for imminent demise at the hands of cathode-ray terminals.

Will Manley

imminently adverb

Did you know?

On Imminent and Eminent

Imminent bears a close resemblance to eminent, and native English-speakers can be excused if they sometimes have to check their spelling. No surprise, really, since the two, despite their very distinct meanings, come from near-identical sources. The Latin minēre means basically “to project, overhang,” and it forms the root of other Latin words. One added the prefix e-, meaning “out from,” to produce eminēre, “to stand out”; another took the prefix im-, meaning “upon,” and became imminēre, “to project.” The difference between “stand out” and “project” is obviously small. Still, even when eminent and imminent first appeared as English words in the 15th and 16th centuries respectively, they were clearly distinct in meaning, imminent’s prefix having strengthened the “overhang” sense of minēre to give the word its frequent suggestion of looming threat.

Example Sentences

The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the local authorities were momentarily stunned, and began frantically trying to prepare for what they feared were further imminent attacks.

Richard A. Clarke, Atlantic, January/February 2005 The compression squashes the bullet slightly, enabling about a half-dozen spiral grooves cut along the barrel's inner wall to grab the bullet and make it spin. That spin stabilizes the bullet's imminent flight.

Peter Weiss, Science News, 11 Jan. 2003 Plaints about the imminent demise of the language are made in every century. But there is usually nothing inherently wrong with most changes the purists deplore.

Steven Pinker, New York Times, 24 Dec. 1999 We are awaiting their imminent arrival. These patients are facing imminent death.

Recent Examples on the Web Though many investors have been fearful of an imminent recession, economic and survey data have held up well.

Andrew T. Levin And Mickey D. Levy, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022 As Catherine ascends in the royal lineup to queen consort-in-waiting, her profile is further rising in the public eye; her husband’s time on the throne, once a somewhat distant eventuality, now feels more concrete and imminent.

Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2022 For now, funding prospects for the rail corridor along Interstate 4, including from federal infrastructure sources, appear more imminent and concrete than any that DOT has articulated for the clogged interstate.

Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2022 In particular, dogs have been trained to detect various cancers, to notice precipitously low blood-sugar levels or imminent seizures.

Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2022 Andye boarded her flight to the US at the end of September, with no imminent plans to return to Europe.

CNN, 15 Sep. 2022 Henry’s move was is timed around the imminent teardown of funky art enclave FAT Village.

Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 14 Sep. 2022 Protocol used the portmanteau Monday to describe the climate questions surrounding Ethereum’s imminent Merge, an upgrade in cryptocurrency mining protocols that will render massive amounts of hardware outdated.

Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2022 What QB Dak Prescott’s imminent surgery means for Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys.

Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English imynent, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French iminent, emynant, borrowed from Latin imminent-, imminens, present participle of imminēre "to rise up, project so as to overhang (of a structure or natural feature), be intent, impend (of something unpleasant or dangerous), threaten," from im- im- + -minēre, taken to mean "stand out, rise above" (unattested without a prefix) — more at minatory

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined above

单词	imminently
释义	imminent adjective im·mi·nent ˈi-mə-nənt : ready to take place : happening soon … systems engineers have become rather blasé about the imminent liftoff. Steven L. Thompson —often used of something bad or dangerous seen as menacingly near imminent disasterLike books, board games appear headed for imminent demise at the hands of cathode-ray terminals. Will Manley imminently adverb Did you know? On Imminent and Eminent Imminent bears a close resemblance to eminent, and native English-speakers can be excused if they sometimes have to check their spelling. No surprise, really, since the two, despite their very distinct meanings, come from near-identical sources. The Latin minēre means basically “to project, overhang,” and it forms the root of other Latin words. One added the prefix e-, meaning “out from,” to produce eminēre, “to stand out”; another took the prefix im-, meaning “upon,” and became imminēre, “to project.” The difference between “stand out” and “project” is obviously small. Still, even when eminent and imminent first appeared as English words in the 15th and 16th centuries respectively, they were clearly distinct in meaning, imminent’s prefix having strengthened the “overhang” sense of minēre to give the word its frequent suggestion of looming threat. Synonyms impending looming pending threatening See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the local authorities were momentarily stunned, and began frantically trying to prepare for what they feared were further imminent attacks. Richard A. Clarke, Atlantic, January/February 2005 The compression squashes the bullet slightly, enabling about a half-dozen spiral grooves cut along the barrel's inner wall to grab the bullet and make it spin. That spin stabilizes the bullet's imminent flight. Peter Weiss, Science News, 11 Jan. 2003 Plaints about the imminent demise of the language are made in every century. But there is usually nothing inherently wrong with most changes the purists deplore. Steven Pinker, New York Times, 24 Dec. 1999 We are awaiting their imminent arrival. These patients are facing imminent death. Recent Examples on the Web Though many investors have been fearful of an imminent recession, economic and survey data have held up well. Andrew T. Levin And Mickey D. Levy, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022 As Catherine ascends in the royal lineup to queen consort-in-waiting, her profile is further rising in the public eye; her husband’s time on the throne, once a somewhat distant eventuality, now feels more concrete and imminent. Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2022 For now, funding prospects for the rail corridor along Interstate 4, including from federal infrastructure sources, appear more imminent and concrete than any that DOT has articulated for the clogged interstate. Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2022 In particular, dogs have been trained to detect various cancers, to notice precipitously low blood-sugar levels or imminent seizures. Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2022 Andye boarded her flight to the US at the end of September, with no imminent plans to return to Europe. CNN, 15 Sep. 2022 Henry’s move was is timed around the imminent teardown of funky art enclave FAT Village. Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 14 Sep. 2022 Protocol used the portmanteau Monday to describe the climate questions surrounding Ethereum’s imminent Merge, an upgrade in cryptocurrency mining protocols that will render massive amounts of hardware outdated. Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2022 What QB Dak Prescott’s imminent surgery means for Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys. Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2022 See More Word History Etymology Middle English imynent, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French iminent, emynant, borrowed from Latin imminent-, imminens, present participle of imminēre "to rise up, project so as to overhang (of a structure or natural feature), be intent, impend (of something unpleasant or dangerous), threaten," from im- im- + -minēre, taken to mean "stand out, rise above" (unattested without a prefix) — more at minatory First Known Use 1528, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition imminent adjective im·mi·nent ˈi-mə-nənt : being about to happen imminent danger imminently adverb as in shortly Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance shortly soon momentarily ultimately eventually finally presently immediately sometime someday anon before long yet promptly directly forthwith straightaway by and by pronto right off right now sooner or later right away straightway Antonyms & Near Antonyms never ne'er nevermore
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imminent

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adverb