instant

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. sudden, immediate, direct, instantaneous. See instantaneity. —n. second, moment; minute; twinkling, jiffy. See necessity, present.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. immediate, prompt, instantaneous, on-the-spot, ready-to-use, ready-to-eat, ready-to-serve, premixed, precooked; see also immediate 1 , prepared 2 , 3 .

n.

Syn. moment, second, short while, flash, trice, split second, twinkling, wink of an eye, jiffy*, shake*, two shakes of a lamb's tail*, jiff*, sec*; see also moment 1 .

• on the instant,

Syn. instantly, without delay, simultaneously; see immediately .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

moment, split second, *heartbeat, *wink/blink of an eye, *flash, *jiffy, *twinkling, *nothing flat.

II

a.

immediate, quick, sudden, direct, fast, prompt, swift, instantaneous, split second, quick, direct, abrupt.

ANT.: slow, delayed

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A very brief time: crack, flash, minute1, moment, second1, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink. Informal: jiff, jiffy. Chiefly British: tick. See BIG, TIME. 2. A particular interval of time that is limited and often crucial: juncture, moment, point. See TIME. II adjective 1. Occurring at once: immediate, instantaneous. See TIME. 2. Compelling immediate attention: burning, crying, dire, emergent, exigent, imperative, pressing, urgent. See BIG. III adverb Without delay: directly, forthwith, immediately, instantly, now, right away, right off, straightaway, straight off. Idioms: at once, first off. See TIME.