What is the difference between instant and moment?
instant | moment |
A very short period of time; a moment.
* She paused for only an instant , which was just enough time for John to change the subject.
A single, usually precise, point in time.
* The instant the alarm went off, he fled the building.
An instant beverage or food, especially instant coffee.
A day of the current month (abbreviated as : )
* In response to your letter of the twenty-first instant...
(dated) Impending; imminent.
* Prior
(dated) Urgent; pressing; acute.
* Bible, Rom. xii. 12
* Carlyle
Occurring immediately; immediate; present.
* Fuller
* {{quote-book, year=1905, author=
, title=
, chapter=2 Lasting for a short moment; momentary; short-lived.
Very quickly and easily prepared.
Of the current month (abbreviation inst.).
* “I refer to your letter of the 16th inst. in regard to traffic disruption”
(poetic) At once; immediately.
* 1819 , Lord Byron, Don Juan , I.182:
A brief, unspecified amount of time.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5
, passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
, chapter=6, title= * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author=
, volume=189, issue=1, page=37, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= The smallest portion of time; an instant.
* , chapter=5
, title= Weight or importance.
* 1597 , (William Shakespeare), , 3,7,67:
* 1904 , (Arthur Conan Doyle), (The Adventure of the Second Stain) , (Norton 2005, p.1192)
The turning effect of a force applied to a rotational system at a distance from the axis of rotation. Also called moment of force.
(label) A definite period of time, specifically one-tenth of a point, or one-fortieth or one-fiftieth of an hour.
(label) A petit mal episode; such a spell.
(label) A fit, a short-duration tantrum, a hissy.
(label) An infinitesimal change in a varying quantity; an increment or decrement.
Moment is a synonym of instant.
Moment is a antonym of instant.
As nouns the difference between instant and moment
is that instant is a very short period of time; a moment while moment is a brief, unspecified amount of time.As an adjective instant
is impending; imminent.As an adverb instant
is at once; immediately.instant
English
Alternative forms
* instaunt (obsolete)Etymology 1
From (etyl) . More at (l), (l).Noun
(en noun)Etymology 2
From (etyl) and (etyl) instant, from (etyl) ; see state.Adjective
(-)- Impending death is thine, and instant doom.
- Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.
- I am beginning to be very instant for some sort of occupation.
- The instant time is always the fittest time.
citation, passage=No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts.}}
- instant coffee
Derived terms
* instantize, instantise * instantly * instant replayAdverb
(-)- He left the room for his relinquished sword, / And Julia instant to the closet flew.
Statistics
* ----moment
English
Noun
(en noun)A Cuckoo in the Nest, passage=Sophia broke down here. Even at this moment she was subconsciously comparing her rendering of the part of the forlorn bride with Miss Marie Lohr's.}}
Sam Leith
Where the profound meets the profane, passage=Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.}}
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.}}
- In deep designs, in matter of great moment , / No less importing than our general good.
- The document in question is of such immense importance that its publication might very easily – I might almost say probably – lead to European complications of the utmost moment .