im·mi·nent [im-uh-nuh[IMG][IMG]nt] Show IPA adjective 1. likely...

im·mi·nent

[im-uh-nuhnt] Show IPA
adjective
1.
likely to occur at any moment; impending: Her death is imminent.
2.
projecting or leaning forward; overhanging.
Origin:
1520–30; < Latin imminent- (stem of imminēns ), present participle of imminēre to overhang, equivalent to im- im-1 + -min- from a base meaning “jut out, project, rise” (cf. eminent, mount2 ) + -ent- -ent

Related forms
im·mi·nent·ly, adverb
im·mi·nent·ness, noun
un·im·mi·nent, adjective

Can be confused: eminent, immanent, imminent.

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.