impending

[im-pen-ding]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR impending ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

about to happen; imminent: their impending marriage.

imminently threatening or menacing: an impending storm.

Archaic. overhanging.

Origin of impending

First recorded in 1675–85; impend + -ing²

Can be confusedpending impending

Synonyms for impending

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR impending ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See imminent.

impend

[im-pend]

verb (used without object)

to be imminent; be about to happen.

to threaten or menace: He felt that danger impended.

Archaic. to hang or be suspended; overhang (usually followed by over).

Origin of impend

First recorded in 1580–90, impend is from the Latin word impendēre to hang over, threaten. See im-¹, pend

Related formssu·per·im·pend, verb (used without object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for impending

imminent, looming, approaching, brewing, gathering, threatening, nearing, near, coming, menacing, ominous, proximate

Examples from the Web for impending

Contemporary Examples of impending

The director left then; he could see the impending catastrophe.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
Certainly his clothes support this notion of impending takeover.
The Hot Designer Who Hates Fashion: VK Nagrani Triumphs His Own Way
Tom Teodorczuk
December 1, 2014
On several occasions, Pakistani officials tipped off Maulvi Nazir and his men about impending drone strikes.
Obama’s Deadly Informants: The Drone Spotters of Pakistan
Umar Farooq, Syed Fakhar Kakakhel
November 12, 2014
The play, set in 1982, depicts the struggles of three privileged slackers to come to terms with impending adulthood.
Michael Cera Brings ‘This Is Our Youth’ to Broadway After 18 Years
Tom Teodorczuk
September 12, 2014
The same thing happens when her mute daughter, the sweet Kattrin, is shot as she tries to warn a hamlet of impending slaughter.
Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75
Katie Baker
September 10, 2014

Historical Examples of impending

The steps suggested to meet this impending calamity were strange enough.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
For all felt a blow to be impending, and only marvelled at its being so long withheld.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
Tito began to be much preoccupied with her impending duties.
Johnny Bear
E. T. Seton
In vague ways it was borne in upon him that a change was impending.
White Fang
Jack London
I troubled myself with the care of that which was not impending over me.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for impending

impending

adjective

about to happen; imminent

impend

verb (intr)

(esp of something threatening) to be about to happen; be imminent

(foll by over) rare to be suspended; hang

Derived Formsimpendence or impendency, noun

Word Origin for impend

C16: from Latin impendēre to overhang, from pendēre to hang

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for impending

impend

1590s, from figurative use of Latin impendere "to hang over, to be imminent," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + pendere "hang" (see pendant). Related: Impended; impending.