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imminent

 - 3 dictionary results

im⋅mi⋅nent

  [im-uh-nuhnt]
Use imminent in a Sentence
–adjective
1. likely to occur at any moment; impending: Her death is imminent.
2. projecting or leaning forward; overhanging.
Origin:
1520–30; < L imminent- (s. of imminēns), prp. of imminēre to overhang, equiv. to im- im- 1 + -min- from a base meaning “jut out, project, rise” (cf. eminent, mount 2 ) + -ent- -ent

Related forms:
im⋅mi⋅nent⋅ly, adverb
im⋅mi⋅nent⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
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.

Antonyms:
1. distant, remote.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To imminent
im·mi·nent   (ĭm'ə-nənt)   
adj.  About to occur; impending: in imminent danger.

[Middle English iminent, from Old French imminent, from Latin imminēns, imminent-, present participle of imminēre, to overhang : in-, in; see in-2 + -minēre, to jut, threaten; see men-2 in Indo-European roots.]
im'mi·nent·ly adv., im'mi·nent·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

imminent 
1528, from L. imminentem (nom. imminens), prp. of imminere "to overhang, impend, be near," from in- "into" + minere "jut out," related to mons "hill" (see mount).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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