adjective
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liable to happen soon; impending
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obsolete jutting out or overhanging
Synonym Usage
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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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.
Carrick is said to be carrying on as normal and has not been made aware of any imminent change following Wednesday's humiliating 4-1 defeat by Italian side Como.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
“The commercials tout the security of gold, silver and other precious metals against imminent financial chaos and tell of the benefits of ‘investing’ through Rosland Capital.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The issuance of a permit doesn’t guarantee that construction is imminent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
"Let me make one point very clear: I do not assess that conflict is imminent or inevitable. It isn't," Grynkewich said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
For several hundred years commentators on the English language have been predicting, lamenting, or celebrating the imminent extinction of the subjunctive mood.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
