GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 3 definitions

1.       
   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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   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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   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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   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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2.       
   Instant, adv. Instantly. [Poetic]
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   Instant he flew with hospitable haste.
   Pope.
   
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3.       
   Instant, n. [F. instant, fr. L. instans standing by, being near, present. See Instant, a.]
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   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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   +PJC
   There is scarce an instant between their flourishing and their not being.
   Hooker.
   
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   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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