imminent

American  

[im-uh-nuhnt] / ˈɪm ə nənt /

adjective

1. likely to occur at any moment; impending.

   Her death is imminent.

   Synonyms:

   at hand, near

   Antonyms:

   remote, distant

2. projecting or leaning forward; overhanging.

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imminent British  

/ ˈɪmɪnənt /

adjective

1. liable to happen soon; impending

2. obsolete jutting out or overhanging

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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

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!

Example Sentences

Before and immediately after the fight, Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh, a major power-broker in modern boxing, was speaking as if the fight announcement was imminent.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

But despite reports and rumours about its imminent release, DeepSeek's next-generation "V4" model is nowhere in sight.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

But there is no imminent risk of the U.S. government running out of money in the way a company or household might.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

The central bank, he said, isn’t facing an imminent decision on what to do with rates because “we don’t know what the economic effects” of the Iran war will be.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

With the danger of capture by the Soviets imminent, Schindler knew he had to flee.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Related Words

• forthcoming
• immediate
• impending
• inevitable
• likely
• looming
• possible
• probable
• unavoidable