GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 3 definitions
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Instant (?), a. [L. instans, -antis, p. pr. of instare to stand upon, to press upon; pref. in- in, on + stare to stand: cf. F. instant. See Stand.]
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1. Pressing; urgent; importunate; earnest.
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Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. Rom. xii. 12.
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I am beginning to be very instant for some sort of occupation. Carlyle.
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2. Closely pressing or impending in respect to time; not deferred; immediate; without delay.
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Impending death is thine, and instant doom. Prior.
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3. Present; current.
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The instant time is always the fittest time. Fuller.
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☞ The word in this sense is now used only in dates, to indicate the current month; as, the tenth of July instant.
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Instant, adv. Instantly. [Poetic]
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Instant he flew with hospitable haste. Pope.
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Instant, n. [F. instant, fr. L. instans standing by, being near, present. See Instant, a.]
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1. A point in time; a moment; a portion of time too short to be estimated; also, any particular moment; as, “the situation may change in an instant”.
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There is scarce an instant between their flourishing and their not being. Hooker.
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2. A day of the present or current month; as, “the sixth instant; -- an elliptical expression equivalent to the sixth of the month instant, i. e., the current month”. See Instant, a., 3.
Syn. -- Moment; flash; second.
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