momentary

B2 Topic:Time

US /ˈmoʊmənˌtɛɹi/ UK /ˈməʊmənt(ə)ɹi/ See IPA manual

adj Freq #22058

Meanings

1

adj
Lasting for only a very short time.

There was a momentary silence before everyone started clapping.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · lasting for only a very... fleeting brief

Word family

Derived forms intermomentarymicromomentarymomentarilymomentarinessnonmomentaryunmomentary

Etymology

From Middle English momentare, from Late Latin mōmentārius (“of brief duration”), from mōmentum (“a short time, an instant”). By surface analysis, moment + -ary.

momentare Middle English mōmentārius la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time

# momentary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈmoʊmənˌtɛɹi
**IPA (UK):** ˈməʊmənt(ə)ɹi
**Frequency rank:** 22058

## Meanings
1. Lasting for only a very short time.

## Examples
- There was a momentary silence before everyone started clapping.

## Derived Forms
- intermomentary
- micromomentary
- momentarily
- momentariness
- nonmomentary
- unmomentary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: momentare
- Root: mōmentārius

## Etymology
From Middle English momentare, from Late Latin mōmentārius (“of brief duration”), from mōmentum (“a short time, an instant”). By surface analysis, moment + -ary.

## AI Etymology
Momentary comes from Middle English momentare, from Late Latin mōmentārius (“of brief duration”), from mōmentum (“a short time, an instant”). By surface analysis, moment + -ary. In present-day English it covers lasting for only a very short time. The historical chain runs through momentare (Middle English) and mōmentārius (Late Latin). Related and derived forms include intermomentary, micromomentary, and momentarily.

## Topics
- Time

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momentary

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