imminent
English
Etymology
From the present participle of Latin imminēre (“to overhang”), from mineō ("to project, overhang"), related to minae (English menace) and mons (English mount). Compare with eminent.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɪmɪnənt/ or /ˈɪmənənt/
Audio (UK) (file)
Adjective
imminent (comparative more imminent, superlative most imminent)
- about to happen, occur, or take place very soon, especially of something which won't last long.
- 1927, Whitney v. California:
- To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion.
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Usage notes
- Imminent and eminent are very similar sounds, and are weak rhymes; in dialects with the pin-pen merger, these become homophones. A typo of either word may result in a correction to the wrong word by spellchecking software. Imminent is also sometimes confused with immanent.
- Said of danger, threat and death.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
about to happen, occur, or take place very soon
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Further reading
- imminent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- imminent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- imminent at OneLook Dictionary Search
Catalan
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /i.mi.nɑ̃/
Adjective
imminent (feminine singular imminente, masculine plural imminents, feminine plural imminentes)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “imminent” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Latin
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