instantaneous

[ in-stuhn-tey-nee-uhs ]

/ ˌɪn stənˈteɪ ni əs /

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adjective

occurring, done, or completed in an instant: an instantaneous response.

existing at or pertaining to a particular instant: the instantaneous position of the rocket.

Nearby words

instant, instant camera, instant message, instant photography, instant replay, instantaneous, instantaneous sound pressure, instanter, instantiate, instantiation, instantize

Origin of instantaneous

From the Medieval Latin word instantāneus, dating back to 1645–55. See instant, -an, -eous

SYNONYMS FOR instantaneous

1 immediate, sudden, abrupt.

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Related forms

in·stan·ta·ne·i·ty

[in-stan-tn-ee-i-tee, in-stuhn-tuh-nee-] /ɪnˌstæn tnˈi ɪ ti, ˌɪn stən təˈni-/, in·stan·ta·ne·ous·ness, nounin·stan·ta·ne·ous·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for instantaneous

But it is important to understand that this effect is neither large nor instantaneous.
Can Tax Reform Jump-Start the Economy?|Justin Green|October 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
By the end of 2013, over 70 percent of humanity will have access to instantaneous, low-cost communications and information.
The World Is Getting Better, Argues New Book, ‘Abundance’|Sam Harris|February 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I was nearly 11 years old, and I clearly remember my instantaneous reaction: "I LOVE this, and my parents are gonna HATE it!"
I Reported John Lennon's Death|Steve North|December 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The whole passage, at once slow and instantaneous, was superbly polite in the haute-Anglo fashion.
Live From Art Basel|Anthony Haden-Guest|June 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST

The anecdote met with instantaneous success, and I hurried away into the dark.
The Virginian|Owen Wister
The loud applause was instantaneous, and Jonathan turned quickly to Hepsey, as he stamped his feet and clapped his hands.
Hepsey Burke|Frank Noyes Westcott
For that it did demand time, and that it was not an instantaneous creation, is implied in the expression "to form."
The Theories of Darwin and Their Relation to Philosophy, Religion, and Morality|Rudolf Schmid
On the contrary, he must have given the order to stop with instantaneous alacrity.
Angela's Business|Henry Sydnor Harrison
Now we can explain this phenomenon perfectly by the uniform nature and the instantaneous rise of that resulting aggregate feeling.
An Introduction to Psychology|Wilhelm Max Wundt

British Dictionary definitions for instantaneous

instantaneous

/ (ˌɪnstənˈteɪnɪəs) /

adjective

occurring with almost no delay; immediate

happening or completed within a momentinstantaneous death

maths

occurring at or associated with a particular instant
equal to the limit of the average value of a given variable as the time interval over which the variable is considered approaches zeroinstantaneous velocity

Derived Forms

instantaneously, adverbinstantaneousness or instantaneity (ɪnˌstæntəˈniːɪtɪ), noun

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