imminent
[ im-uh-nuhnt ]
/ ˈɪm ə nənt /
adjective
likely to occur at any moment; impending: Her death is imminent.
projecting or leaning forward; overhanging.
Origin of imminent
SYNONYMS FOR imminent
1
near, at hand.
Imminent,
Impending,
Threatening all may carry the implication of menace, misfortune, disaster, but they do so in differing degrees.
Imminent may portend evil:
an imminent catastrophe, but also may mean simply “about to happen”:
The merger is imminent.
Impending has a weaker sense of immediacy and threat than
imminent :
Real tax relief legislation is impending, but it too may be used in situations portending disaster:
impending social upheaval; to dread the impending investigation.
Threatening almost always suggests ominous warning and menace:
a threatening sky just before the tornado struck.
OTHER WORDS FROM imminent
im·mi·nent·ly, adverb im·mi·nent·ness, noun un·im·mi·nent, adjectiveWords nearby imminent
Example sentences from the Web for imminent
British Dictionary definitions for imminent
imminent
/ (ˈɪmɪnənt) /
adjective
liable to happen soon; impending
obsolete
jutting out or overhanging
Derived forms of imminent
imminence or imminentness, noun imminently, adverbWord Origin for imminent
C16: from Latin
imminēre to project over, from
im- (in) +
-minēre to project; related to
mons mountain