Meaning & use
instantaneous
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparableformal
Happening at once, with no noticeable gap of time between the cause and the result.
Grammar: Usually not graded; you do not say very instantaneous.
Patterns
- an instantaneous response
- instantaneous with something
The effect of the medicine was instantaneous.
Light travel looks instantaneous over short distances.
The online payment gave an instantaneous confirmation.
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalphysics
In science, describing a value measured at one exact moment, such as speed at a given instant.
Grammar: Goes before a noun: instantaneous velocity.
Patterns
- instantaneous velocity
- instantaneous rate
The car's instantaneous speed was shown on the dashboard.
Instantaneous velocity is the limit of average velocity over shorter and shorter times.
Engineers recorded the instantaneous power of the generator.
Common combinations
- instantaneous reaction
- His instantaneous reaction saved the child.
- instantaneous communication
- Email made instantaneous communication across countries possible.
- instantaneous velocity
- The graph shows the instantaneous velocity at each second.
- almost instantaneous
- The relief was almost instantaneous.
- instantaneous death
- The report said death was instantaneous.
Synonyms and how they differ
- immediate
- Immediate is the everyday word, while instantaneous stresses that there is no delay at all.
- instant
- Instant is shorter and more common, but may describe ready-made things, like instant coffee, where instantaneous cannot.
- prompt
- Prompt means quick and on time rather than literally without delay.
- sudden
- Sudden stresses surprise, whereas instantaneous stresses speed with no gap.
Opposites
Word family
- instant noun
- a very short moment
- instantly adverb
- immediately, without any delay
- instantaneously adverb
- in an instant, with no delay
- instantaneity noun
- the quality of being instantaneous; rare
Commonly confused: instantaneous or instant? instantaneous or spontaneous?
instantaneous vs instant
Instant can be used for ready-made food and quick results, but instantaneous is not used for products.
instantaneous vs spontaneous
Spontaneous means done naturally without planning, which is different from happening without time delay.
Practice
Which sentence uses instantaneous correctly?
Choose one answer.
Instantaneous describes an event with no delay. Ready-made noodles are instant, and the other options misuse the word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “instantaneous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.