adjective
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liable to happen soon; impending
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obsolete jutting out or overhanging
Related Words
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
- imminence noun
- imminently adverb
- imminentness noun
- unimminent adjective
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” ( eminent, mount 2 ) + -ent- -ent
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.
In the football world, there isn’t the same threat of an imminent work stoppage—the CBA runs through the 2030 season.
“Although the license renewal is imminent and may worry some in the market, this is typical of the historical licensing timetable/process,” says Morgan.
However, a former associate of Epstein, who preferred not to be named, said the transaction showed Epstein "had no clue" about his imminent arrest.
From BBC
This has allayed worries over imminent U.S. military action, ANZ Research analysts say in a note.
The company said it would continue to alert emergency services when its systems detect that users might be at imminent risk of physical harm.
Definitions 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.
