adjective
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liable to happen soon; impending
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obsolete jutting out or overhanging
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of imminent
First recorded in 1520–30; from 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, mount 2) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Something that is imminent is just about to happen: if you light a firecracker and then stick it down your pants, a very bad situation is imminent. Imminent is from Latin imminere, "to overhang," and to say that something is imminent is to say that it is hanging over you and about to fall, in a metaphorical way. If you take your mom’s car and drive it into the mailbox, getting grounded is imminent. You don’t want that hanging over your head!
Vocabulary lists containing imminent
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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Othello
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The answer was no, but it raised other imminent estate-planning questions.
From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026
On Friday, some Tenerife dock workers gathered outside the Canary Islands' parliament building in the town of Santa Cruz, to voice concerns that the imminent arrival could pose a health risk for them.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
LyondellBassell’s spiked above 100% in late 2024, before the company started posting quarterly losses in 2025, sparking widespread concern a cut was imminent.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
Primm Valley Resorts announced the imminent closure of Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino on Tuesday afternoon.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
Seeing their imminent escape, Mother Water Monster commanded a cloud to condense and form a thick sheet of ice that covered the hole, barring their exit.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
