imminent

adjective

im·​mi·​nent ˈi-mə-nənt How to pronounce imminent (audio)
: ready to take place : happening soon
… systems engineers have become rather blasé about the imminent liftoff.Steven L. Thompson
often used of something bad or dangerous seen as menacingly near
imminent disaster
Like books, board games appear headed for imminent demise at the hands of cathode-ray terminals.Will Manley
imminently adverb

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On Imminent and Eminent

Imminent bears a close resemblance to eminent, and native English-speakers can be excused if they sometimes have to check their spelling. No surprise, really, since the two, despite their very distinct meanings, come from near-identical sources. The Latin minēre means basically “to project, overhang,” and it forms the root of other Latin words. One added the prefix e-, meaning “out from,” to produce eminēre, “to stand out”; another took the prefix im-, meaning “upon,” and became imminēre, “to project.” The difference between “stand out” and “project” is obviously small. Still, even when eminent and imminent first appeared as English words in the 15th and 16th centuries respectively, they were clearly distinct in meaning, imminent’s prefix having strengthened the “overhang” sense of minēre to give the word its frequent suggestion of looming threat.

Examples of imminent in a Sentence

The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the local authorities were momentarily stunned, and began frantically trying to prepare for what they feared were further imminent attacks. Richard A. Clarke, Atlantic, January/February 2005
The compression squashes the bullet slightly, enabling about a half-dozen spiral grooves cut along the barrel's inner wall to grab the bullet and make it spin. That spin stabilizes the bullet's imminent flight. Peter Weiss, Science News, 11 Jan. 2003
Plaints about the imminent demise of the language are made in every century. But there is usually nothing inherently wrong with most changes the purists deplore. Steven Pinker, New York Times, 24 Dec. 1999
We are awaiting their imminent arrival. These patients are facing imminent death.
Recent Examples on the Web That’s a lower chance than at the beginning of the year, when investors seemed convinced that rate cuts were imminent. Krystal Hur, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 Talks involving Egypt, Qatar and the United States were underway Sunday in Cairo, but a deal did not appear to be imminent. Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 Neighbors pushed back, insisting the growth prospective businesses desire is imminent. Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2024 The numerous eruptions over the past few years on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland has been an opportunity for volcanologists to really dig into the signs that an eruption is imminent. Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 The deals with Automattic, the parent company of Tumblr and WordPress, are imminent and employees have already been gathering data to hand off, reported 404 Media. Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024 The hundreds of vehicle designers and hardware engineers formerly focused on the Apple car can apply to other positions, although yesterday’s report makes clear that layoffs are imminent. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 28 Feb. 2024 Israel's seal on the territory, which allows in only a trickle of food and other aid, has sparked alarm that a famine could be imminent, according to the United Nations. Tia Goldenberg, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2024 The World Food Program also warned that famine was imminent in the north of the enclave, where violence forced it to halt aid deliveries. NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'imminent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English imynent, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French iminent, emynant, borrowed from Latin imminent-, imminens, present participle of imminēre "to rise up, project so as to overhang (of a structure or natural feature), be intent, impend (of something unpleasant or dangerous), threaten," from im- im- + -minēre, taken to mean "stand out, rise above" (unattested without a prefix) — more at minatory

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of imminent was in 1528

Dictionary Entries Near imminent

Cite this Entry

“Imminent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imminent. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

imminent

adjective
im·​mi·​nent ˈim-ə-nənt How to pronounce imminent (audio)
: being about to happen
in imminent danger
imminently adverb

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