adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of momentary
1425–75; late Middle English momentare < Latin mōmentārius. See moment, -ary
Explanation
Something that lasts for a very short time is momentary. A flash of lightning is momentary, since it blazes across the sky for only a second or two. Use the adjective momentary when you want to describe something brief or fleeting, like a momentary pause in a speech or a momentary flash of insight that pops into your head and disappears. If it lasts just a moment, it's momentary. The root word is the Latin momentarius, "of brief duration," which in turn comes from momentum, "short time, or instant."
Vocabulary lists containing momentary
Chronically Dolores
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The Ink Witch
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Brief
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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.
Momentary pictures emerge from the crackling cloud and then sink back — a girl walking, a simple clapboard building, a hand holding a teacup, a car careening over a steep embankment and more.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2024
Momentary states, Beckmann explains, reflect how particular personality traits reveal themselves as a person responds to differing situations.
From Scientific American • Apr. 5, 2023
Momentary glimpses of the Chrysler Building or the New York Public Library work almost as an establishing shot: This is New York City, baby.
From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2022
Momentary hallucinations tilt the show into motion as a mental-hygiene thriller, and extended dream sequences intertwine with waking life to escalate its tensions.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 21, 2018
Momentary as the shock had been, I found that Polly had remarked it.
From Branded by Lynde, Francis
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.
