momentarily

[moh-muhn-tair-uh-lee, moh-muhn-ter-]

adverb

1. for a moment; briefly.

   to pause momentarily.

2. at any moment; imminently.

   expected to occur momentarily.

3. Now Rare.,  instantly.

momentarily

/ -trɪlɪ, ˈməʊməntərəlɪ /

adverb

1. for an instant; temporarily

2. from moment to moment; every instant

3. very soon

Word History and Origins

Origin of momentarily¹

First recorded in 1645–55; momentary + -ly

Example Sentences

“I thought we talked about this,” Troll A says, his weapon momentarily dropping to his side.

Read more on Literature

Each girl’s head swiveled momentarily to stare, then turned back to her bowl.

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Penelope thought she saw Judge Quinzy’s right eyebrow arch momentarily, but he quickly composed himself.

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Those students’ mood momentarily brightened when they were given tie-dye T-shirts as a tribute to the late Bill Walton, who was honored in a pregame video.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This is a long way of getting into a column about Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor, who has been crazy good this season—MVP good, if we can momentarily pretend he has a chance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• briefly 
• immediately 
• instantly 
• temporarily