- present participle of impend.
impending
Americanadjective
-
about to happen; imminent.
their impending marriage.
-
imminently threatening or menacing.
an impending storm.
-
Archaic. overhanging.
adjective
Synonym Usage
See imminent.
Etymology
Origin of impending
Explanation
If something is impending, it is about to happen. If you hear thunder in the distance, you might go inside to escape the impending storm. The word impending often refers to something threatening or frightening: impending doom, impending disaster. Something that is impending hangs over you — you might say, "I was so distracted by thoughts of my impending failure in my exams, I couldn't study." A synonym is imminent.
Vocabulary lists containing impending
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 4
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Things Fall Apart
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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.
For Merck, this could bring a new drug into its arsenal to help offset the impending patent loss for Keytruda, one of the top-selling drugs in the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He told me he had gotten “at least 100 calls” since the local news item announcing the impending closure.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
As the disturbing details of the case are revisited, his family, fellow officers and the public are outraged once more – at what happened, and at the perpetrators' impending release.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Oman is facing an impending environmental catastrophe as an alleged Russian shadow fleet tanker leaks oil across hundreds of square kilometres near a nature reserve, NGOs warn.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
I’m most afraid of Asleep and impending, weightless doom.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
