adjective
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liable to happen soon; impending
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obsolete jutting out or overhanging
Synonym Usage
Imminent, Impending, Threatening all may carry the implication of menace, misfortune, disaster, but they do so in differing degrees. Imminent may portend evil: an imminent catastrophe, but also may mean simply “about to happen”: The merger is imminent. Impending has a weaker sense of immediacy and threat than imminent : Real tax relief legislation is impending, but it too may be used in situations portending disaster: impending social upheaval; to dread the impending investigation. Threatening almost always suggests ominous warning and menace: a threatening sky just before the tornado struck.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of imminent
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin imminent- (stem of imminēns ), present participle of imminēre “to overhang,” equivalent to im- im- 1 + -min- from a base meaning “jut out, project, rise” ( cf. eminent, mount 2) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Something that is imminent is just about to happen: if you light a firecracker and then stick it down your pants, a very bad situation is imminent. Imminent is from Latin imminere, "to overhang," and to say that something is imminent is to say that it is hanging over you and about to fall, in a metaphorical way. If you take your mom’s car and drive it into the mailbox, getting grounded is imminent. You don’t want that hanging over your head!
Vocabulary lists containing imminent
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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Othello
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Financial-technology stocks may be feeling the pain as well from fears of an imminent rate hike, as higher rates mean higher default risk for lenders, Mizuho anlayst Dan Dolev told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Fewer shorts, buybacks ending, no inflows and too many longs imply no recovery is imminent, says a JPMorgan strategist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The imminent arrival of the Kelvin wave comes as California has jolted into emergency mode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Following a court case in Quebec, it was expanded in 2021 to people with incurable conditions but whose death was not imminent.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The trees brood over you, the streams don’t babble—they growl, and each call of an animal seems like a dire warning of imminent danger.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
