Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Lasting for only a moment.
- adj. Occurring or present at every moment: in momentary fear of being exposed.
- adj. Short-lived or ephemeral, as a life.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Lasting but a moment or for a very short time; of short duration: as, a momentary pang.
- Short-lived; likely to die soon or at any moment.
- Occurring every moment: as, momentary interruptions.
Wiktionary
- adj. Lasting for only a moment.
- adj. Happening at every moment; perpetual.
- adj. Ephemeral or relatively short-lived.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Done in a moment; continuing only a moment; lasting a very short time.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. lasting for a markedly brief time
Etymologies
- Middle English momentare, from Latin mōmentārius, from mōmentum, moment; see moment. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Foley, who's openly gay, says he was molested by a priest as a child, leading him to addiction and what he calls a momentary lapse of judgment.”
“Any Republican urge to negotiate a ‘least bad’ compromise with the Democrats, and thereby gain momentary public credit for helping the president ‘do something’ about health care, should also be resisted.”
“Few clearer statements of the naturalistic paradox of joy in momentary and sensuous pleasure being clouded by a pall that shrouds even the happiest summits34 can be found in London's fiction than his summary of Fang's outlook at the moment of realization:”
Le Milieu, Le Moment, La Race: Literary Naturalism in Jack London's White Fang
“But the smaller branch of the two composing the fork broke, and Michael fell to the ground, landing in momentary confusion on his head and shoulders.”
“Suffice to say it was a much more dangerous and miserable version of the above story (imagine seven-year-old crack addicts), but ultimately became an exercise in momentary transcendence.”
“Michael fell to the ground, landing in momentary confusion on his head and shoulders.”
“Sometimes, in momentary reaction from the pent-up feelings of indignation and revolt, which were chronic with me during my imprisonments, I could have laughed out loud at the imbecility and pathos of human fallibility, that civilised (?) educated beings could continue such processes by way of ridding themselves from the dangers and active harmfulness of crime.”
“There was Pitapat flitting about the bed in momentary danger of looking under it!”
“My dear friend, you are in momentary danger of losing this soul of such priceless value.”
“He lifted her and laid her on the sofa, and was lingering in momentary doubt whether to wait her recovery or ring for her maid, when the library-door opened, and Lady Raymond entered.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘momentary’.
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Impressionism
Words that describe the art of the impressionist era.
seascapes, landscapes, modern, impression, impressionist, contemporary, flicker, sensation, modernity, perceived, perceiving, momentary and 142 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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Blippets
Time~sphere phenomena, manipulations, fluctuations, processes, measurements, and oddities. For use in building my machine.
microfortnight, transilient, instant, flash, breath, blink, beat, momentary, nimesha, truti, second, centisecond and 120 more...
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fifi
verbs Adj Adv noun
indulge, convene, solve, dissolve, prospect, prospective, allege, resolve, accountable, administration, amid, agenda and 407 more...
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chibiryuu's Words
sugary, amalgam, zaftig, incommensurability, isomorphism, fold, awesome, cute, hack, dichotomy, pyrrhic, bifurcate and 89 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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_mark's list
Words I like!
( personal list, favorite words, randomness )psy, nanobot, success, smack, vibration, microcosmic, springgraph, marksmanship, estranged, homoerotic, flex, fiasco and 1707 more...
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clementine's list
weltschmerz, eidolon, thambos, supper, trinket, wish, accidia, der treppenwitz, das backpfeifenge..., weltanschauung, arcady, revolution and 47 more...
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I'm scared one day I'll say it, "I do...
heartbeats, tessellate, reinvent, collarbones, entangle, frightened, wrists, furniture, variations, unnoticed, astride, motion and 80 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for momentary.
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