instantaneous
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ɪnstənˈteɪni.əs/
Adjective

instantaneous (not comparable)

  1. Occurring, arising, or function#Verb|functioning without any delay#Noun|delay; happening within an imperceptibly brief#Adjective|brief period of time#Noun|time.
    Synonyms: immediate, instant, Thesaurus:instantaneous
    • 1766 March, [Oliver Goldsmith], “Fresh Mortifications, or a Demonstration that Seeming Calamities may be Real Blessings”, in The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale. Supposed to be Written by Himself, volume I, Salisbury, Wiltshire: Printed by B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], OCLC 938500648 ↗, page 137 ↗:
      However, no lovers in romance ever cemented a more inſtantaneous friendſhip.
    • 1813 January 26, [Jane Austen], chapter XV, in Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. In Three Volumes, volume III, London: Printed [by George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], OCLC 38659585 ↗, page 262 ↗:
      The colour now rushed into Elizabeth's cheeks in the instantaneous conviction of its being a letter from the nephew, instead of the aunt; [...]
    • 1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter IV, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale, London: Methuen & Co., […], published 1907, OCLC 270548466 ↗; The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright edition, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1907, OCLC 1107573959 ↗, pages 68–69 ↗:
      I walk always with my right hand closed round the india-rubber ball which I have in my trouser pocket. The pressing of this ball actuates a detonator inside the flask I carry in my pocket. It's the principle of the pneumatic instantaneous shutter for a camera lens.
Translations


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