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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ACT Vocabulary List
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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.
"I don't think we're going to do something today," said Maresca when asked in a news conference on Friday if they were likely to do imminent transfer business.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
—Asian equity markets were mixed Wednesday, ahead of U.S. inflation data and as prospects of an imminent U.S.-Iran deal faded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
On Friday, the S&P 500 closed at a record high as the broader stock market had its best week in four months, as a weaker-than-expected jobs report eased fears of an imminent interest-rate hike.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 9, 2026
Suisun City officials said in a statement that the attack posed no imminent threat to the public and that all public safety services remain active.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
A year later a secret conference of scientists is convened to debate the dimming of the sun, which many now believe presents an imminent threat to life on Earth.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
