instant

A2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈɪnstənt/ See IPA manual

Homophones

inst /ˈɪnstənt/

Freq #4532

Meanings

1

noun
A very short moment of time.

For an instant, I thought I saw someone at the window.
2

adj
Happening or produced immediately, with no delay.

The movie was an instant success.
3

adj
Quick and easy to prepare, usually by adding water.

I made a cup of instant coffee.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a very short moment of time. moment

2 adj · happening or produced... immediate instantaneous

Word family

Forms instants

Derived forms ibuyerinstagraminstantiseinstantizeinstantlyinstantnessinstantonpoint-instant

Related forms instakillinstance

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

instant gratification
pleasure or satisfaction obtained immediately without waiting

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English instant (“infinitely short period of time”), from Old French instant (“assiduous, at hand”, adjective), from Latin īnstāns, īnstantis (“present, pressing, urgent”, literally “standing near”), present active participle of īnstō (“to stand upon, be nearby”), from in- (“after”) + stō (“to stand”). Compare Old English instede (“immediately, on the spot, at once”). More at in, stand.

*steh₂- Proto-Indo-European instant Middle English instans Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# instant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪnstənt/
**Frequency rank:** 4532

## Meanings
1. A very short moment of time.
2. Happening or produced immediately, with no delay.
3. Quick and easy to prepare, usually by adding water.

## Examples
- For an instant, I thought I saw someone at the window.
- The movie was an instant success.
- I made a cup of instant coffee.

## Derived Forms
- ibuyer
- instagram
- instantise
- instantize
- instantly
- instantness
- instanton
- point-instant

## Related Forms
- instakill
- instance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *steh₂-
- Root: instant
- Root: instans

## Etymology
From Middle English instant (“infinitely short period of time”), from Old French instant (“assiduous, at hand”, adjective), from Latin īnstāns, īnstantis (“present, pressing, urgent”, literally “standing near”), present active participle of īnstō (“to stand upon, be nearby”), from in- (“after”) + stō (“to stand”). Compare Old English instede (“immediately, on the spot, at once”). More at in, stand.

## AI Etymology
Instant comes from Middle English instant (“infinitely short period of time”), from Old French instant (“assiduous, at hand”, adjective), from Latin īnstāns, īnstantis (“present, pressing, urgent”, literally “standing near”), present active participle of īnstō (“to stand upon, be nearby”), from in- (“after”) + stō (“to stand”). Compare Old English instede (“immediately, on the spot, at once”). More at in, stand. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. The historical line also includes *steh₂- and instans.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

markdown