| 释义 |
▪ I. instant, a. (adv.)|ˈɪnstənt|
[a. F. instant (14th c. in Hatz.-Darm.) assiduous; at hand, imminent; ad. L. instānt-em, pr. pple. of instāre to be present, to be at hand; to urge, press upon; to apply oneself to; f. in- (in-2) + stāre to stand.]
I.
1. Pressing, urgent, importunate. a. Said of persons and their actions.
c1477[implied in instantly 1]. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 315 Theyse .iiii. byshoppys..made instaunt labour to the Kynge, for the obseruynge of the popys commaundement. 1555Eden Decades 58 He was instant to trauayle westwarde by foote. 1560Bible (Genev.) Luke xxiii. 23 They were instant with loud voyces, and required that he might be crucified. ― 2 Tim. iv. 2 Preache the worde: be instant, in season and out of season. 1693in Dryden's Juvenal (1697) 342 He is instant with all Parents, that they permit not their Children, to hear lascivious Words. 1700Tyrrell Hist. Eng. II. 885 The Bishops were instant with the King to make Peace. 1865Trollope Belton Est. xx. 237 He..was more instant in his affection, more urgent in his good office.
b. Of things: Pressing, urgent.
1585Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xviii. 52 b, To succour and supply the instant necessities which might happen. 1588Queen Elizabeth in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. III. 139 Upon this instant extraordinarie occasion. 1642Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 371 Instant necessity..hath ratified it. 1777Burke Let. Sheriffs Bristol Wks. 1842 I. 209 It would become every man's immediate and instant concern. 1816Scott Antiq. xli, I thought there was not such instant haste. 1856J. H. Newman Callista 157 He has instant need of you.
II.
2. a. Now present, or present at the time defined; now (or then) existing or happening. arch.
1549Compl. Scot. xiv. 121 Kyng Alexander cam at that instant tyme. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. 503 This Countries instant Shrieve. c1669Waller To Person of Honour, on his ‘British Princes’ 27 Eternity has neither past Nor future..But is all instant. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. I. 315 The lower race of animals, when satisfied for the instant moment, are perfectly happy. 1881Daily Tel. 12 Feb., On the 12th of February—this instant Saturday.
b. Said of the current calendar month; now ellipt. as in the 10th instant, i.e. the tenth day of the current month. Abbreviated inst.
1547in Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) III. 377, I have appointed friends to convene the 18th day of this instant month. 1583T. Stocker Hist. Civ. Warres Lowe C. i. 15 The 20. or 21. of that instant. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 27 On Tuesday being the thirteenth of this instant. 1640–4in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 510 The Message received from Your Majesty the seventh of this instant February. 1648Cromwell Let. 18 Sept. in Carlyle, We received yours from Falkirk of the 15th September Instant. 1688Lond. Gaz. No. 2317/1 On the 8th Instant at 5 in the Morning, we discovered a Sail. 1707–8Pope Let. to Wycherley 28 Feb., I have had yours of the 23rd of this instant. 1708Swift Predict. Sept., The pope..will die on the 11th instant. 1742Fielding J. Andrews iv. v, On the ― of this instant October, being Sabbath day. 1817Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXII. 47 The proprietor of the Courier, on the 2d instant, has these words. Mod. In my letter of the 15th inst.
3. Close at hand, impending, imminent.
a1520Barclay Jugurth (Pynson, ed. 2) 82 If I knewe without doute that our sure distruction were instant. 1605A. Willet Hexapla Gen. 461 Feeling the houre of his death to be instant. 1662Gunning Lent Fast 77 When now Lent was instant. 1713Steele Guardian No. 18 ⁋3 The evil which to men in other stations may seem distant, to him is instant and ever before his eyes. 1820Scott Monast. iii, Her mind being probably occupied by the instant danger. 1871Browning Balaust. 543 The abrupt Fate's footstep instant now.
4. Following immediately.
†a. Next in order of time, very next. Obs.
1613Marston Insat. C'tess v. Ij, Vpon the instant morrow of her nuptials.
b. Succeeding or coming without any interval; immediate.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. iv. 20, I feare the Power of Percy is too weake, To wage an instant tryall with the king. 1605― Lear i. iv. 268 The shame it selfe doth speake For instant remedy. 1667Milton P.L. x. 210 Th' instant stroke of Death. 1749Smollett Regicide v. ii, Intelligence important, that demands His instant ear. 1786Burke W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 160 For the sole purpose of creating an instant fortune for the said Sullivan. 1816Accum Chem. Tests (1818) 164 An instant milkiness ensues. 1850McCosh Div. Govt. ii. ii. (1874) 163 A particular vital vessel bursts, and instant death follows. 1866R. W. Dale Disc. Spec. Occ. iii. 77 The sailors were in dread of almost instant destruction. Mod. The application gave instant relief.
c. Of a processed food: that can be prepared for use immediately. Also transf. and fig., hurriedly prepared or carried out, etc.
1912Ladies' Home Jrnl. Oct. 71/4 (Advt.), Instant Postum..is regular Postum in concentrated form—made in the cup—no boiling required. 1915E. B. Holt Freudian Wish ii. 87, I wish I had..drunk less of that hot-wash that my wife calls instant coffee. 1924Ladies' Home Jrnl. Oct. 198/1 G. Washington's Delicious Instant Coffee... The coffee ready to drink when dissolved in hot water. 1957D. Karp Leave me Alone xi. 151 Your grand new world of jet airplanes, nylon stockings, frozen food, instant coffee and brain-washing. 1957Amer. Speech XXXII. 313 Instant lather..instant shaving lather. 1958Woman 18 Oct. 4/3 In these days of ‘ready-mix’ cakes, ‘instant puddings’ and other time-saving boons to the busy housewife. 1959News Chron. 26 Sept. 3/5, I tried the new instant tea... I measured out a half teaspoonful of the instant powder, poured on hot water and stirred in milk. Ibid. 30 Oct. 6/4 British food firms are being chary about introducing ‘instant meals’... Instant bread comes as small frozen pebble shapes which fluff up to fresh crisp rolls after a few minutes in the oven. 1961H. Tracy Season of Mists vii. 84 Sit you down, and I'll make the coffee, nice real instant coffee, none of your messy old grounds. 1962Listener 25 Jan. 185/1 Their habit of producing, on all sorts of occasions, bits of what may be called instant poetry. 1962J. Terraine in Jrnl. R. United Service Inst. May 140 There are all too many [historical works] which fall into the category of what I call ‘instant history’, rapidly composed on the strength of a very fresh approach to the subject, generally devoid of any true period sense, and loaded with comment from false premises. 1963Sunday Times 17 Feb. 29/6 September 3 [sc. 1939] is the roundest of capsules: instant peace, instant war, instant history... Instant history may be surface-glossing, but it has a jerky, filmic excitement about it. 1963Listener 7 Mar. 427/3 ‘This post-war propaganda, piling corpse on corpse, heaping horror on futility, seems bound to fail...’ Yet it is back with us now, in the hands of the ‘instant historians’. 1965Hair Do July 57/1 Instant curls: for the woman who longs for short, casual curls..the brief luxurious wig is the perfect hair do. 1965Punch 13 Oct. 552/3 A bumper pack of Instant Art for the..young executive—with money. 1966Economist 9 Apr. 161/1 This phrase ‘hundred days’ is itself out of fashion, because ‘instant government’ is now condemned as a derogatory term. 1967New Scientist 9 Feb. 352/1 The preparation of instant food is very simple in principle. It consists essentially of precooking the food..then proceeding to a complete or partial dehydration. 1967Observer 26 Mar. 9 Music and ‘instant sex’ take subsidiary place to drugs as the real focus of the hippy sub⁓culture. 1967U. Sedgwick My Learn-to-cook Book 56 Fruit is an instant food. 1969New Yorker 29 Nov. 167/1 How could Agnew be so confident of the Register's objectivity and so certain that it would find the speech worthy of an editorial—tantamount to ‘instant analysis’. 1973Times 22 Feb. 1/3 Rising demand for mueslis and instant porridges.
d. instant replay (U.S.) = action replay s.v. action 16.
1973Maclean's Mag. Feb. 80/2 TV instant replay multiplies analysis and assigns error: in the press boxes, after a goal has been scored, sports writers and sportscasters rush to the TV screen for the instant replay, usually shown in slow motion. 1985N.Y. Times 23 Apr. c7/3 There are instant replays, and the running commentary that appears on screen for each play captures the poetry of baseball.
5. as adv. (poet.) Instantly, at once.
1602Shakes. Ham. i. v. 94 You my sinnewes, grow not instant Old; But beare me stiffely up. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 549 Instant without disturb they took Allarm. a1763Shenstone Elegies vii. 17 Instant a graceful form appear'd confest. 1813T. Busby Lucretius i. 559 Its warmth we instant feel.
▸ Of a lottery, game, contest, etc.: immediately or quickly revealing whether a prize has been won, occas. by immediately providing the winner with the prize. Also spec., of a lottery: employing tickets which may be scratched, opened, etc., to reveal immediately whether a prize has been won; of or relating to such a lottery; designating such a ticket.
1964N.Y. Times 2 Aug. 61/1 The revenues include an unusual ‘instant lottery’ in which the player buys a one-franc (25-cent) ticket and finds out right away whether he won or lost. 1982U.S. News & World Rep. 6 Dec. 12/3 In Alabama and Kentucky, Shell dealers offered instant giveaway games involving scratch cards. 2001Sun 27 Jan. 23/4 Instant Millionaire tickets will go on sale at the end of April and will cost {pstlg}2—twice as much as a normal scratchcard.
▸ instant-win adj. and n. = instant adj.; also as n.
1981Advertising Age 12 Oct. s10/5 *Instant win games have demonstrated sufficient appeal to..make product managers rethink their..promotion plans. 1982Washington Post 4 Aug. c5/2 The city's first instant-win lottery tickets will go on sale Aug. 25. 1996Independent on Sunday 23 June (Business section) 8/1 He will also advertise an instant-win promotion that offers shoppers an opportunity to win a house... ‘It's not the first time we've run an instant win but it is a departure to use a personality.’
▪ II. instant, n.|ˈɪnstənt|
[ellipt. use of instant a.: cf. med.L. instans (Du Cange), F. instant (Rabelais, 16th c.).]
I.
1. The point of time now present, or regarded as present with reference to some action or event; hence, point of time, moment.
a1500Sir Beues 964 (Pynson), They went to the kynge in that instant. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 63 Which offereth unto me, at this instant, no lesse occasion of musing. 1608D. T. Ess. Pol. & Mor. 31 Green figges, which at that instant were brought from thence. 1610Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 64 The verie instant that I saw you, did My heart flie to your seruice. 1638F. Junius Paint. of Ancients 138 Phantasies..running in the mind at the very instant of conception. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xix. 202 Of all the extent of time, onely the instant is that which we can call ours. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xliv. 175, I made him no answer for the instant. 1714Steele Reader No. 7 (1723) 281 The Monitor of the day following, to wit on the Instant of my present writing. 1715–20Pope Iliad xvii. 777 Fly to the fleet, this instant fly. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. I. 134 He wished impatiently for death, and hastened the instant of it. Mod. Come this very instant!
2. An infinitely short space of time; a point of time; a moment.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ii. xviii. (Add. MS. 27944), An Instant is a duringe that abydith nouȝt, for an Instant is and neuer was nothir shal be. 1570Billingsley Euclid i. def. iii. 2 An instant in time, is neither tyme, nor part of tyme. 1651Jer. Taylor Holy Dying iii. §4 (1727) 68 That sorrow..which gives its smart but by instants and smallest Proportions of time. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. xiv. (1695) 94 Such a part of Duration..wherein we perceive no Succession, is that which we may call an Instant. 1713Addison Cato i. iii, Every instant I expect him here. 1833N. Arnott Physics (ed. 5) II. 82 Owing to the momentum acquired in the first instants. 1891E. Peacock N. Brendon II. 68 He was not an instant too soon.
3. Phrases (from 1 and 2). † at (in) one (an) instant, at one and the same moment, concurrently. † at one (an) instant, in a moment, forthwith, immediately. in an instant, on († upon, † in) the instant, etc. the instant, elliptically = ‘the very instant’ or ‘moment that’, ‘as soon as ever’.
1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 177 The charyte of god..enflaumed them all in a poynte, momente or instante. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 253 In one instant he falles agayne. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 47 It should be midday with us, and them at one instaunt. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 225 It is yong Orlando, that tript vp the Wrastlers heeles, and your heart, both in an instant. 1611Bible Isa. xxix. 5 It shalbe at an instant suddenly. 1640tr. Verdere's Romant of Rom. I. 17 A great Knight arriving in the instant. Ibid. III. 38 The place being on an instant covered with a world of people. 1755H. Walpole Lett. H. Mann 15 June, The instant he leaves you, you, all the world, are nothing to him. 1842Grove Corr. Phys. Forces 78 The instant they are brought into metallic contact, chemical action takes place. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xxii. 217 He ran for it on the instant. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 224 What, replied Dionysodorus in an instant; am I the brother of Euthydemus?
†4. That which is present, or is (as a permanent fact). Obs. rare.
1677Gale Crt. Gentiles iv. 285 Eternitie..is but one only fixed permanent Is or Instant..Eternitie is not a fluent instant, such as they make to be in Time, but ‘nunc’ or ‘instans stans’, a standing fixed permanent Instant.
II.
†5. = instance n. 6. Obs.
1560Jewell Corr. Cole Answ. 2nd Let., Aristotle giveth order to the opponent in many cases to require an instant, as I do now at your hand.
III. †6. Urgent entreaty: = instance n. 1.
1610Holland Camden's Brit. 687 Upon her instant unto the Romans for aide, garisons were set.
IV.
7. An ‘instant’ beverage (see prec. 4 c); spec. instant coffee.
1954N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Sept. vi. 52 The ‘instants’—soluble coffee, soluble cocoa. 1963‘A. Gilbert’ Ring for Noose xi. 132 Julie..asked if she could have coffee. ‘I'll make you a cup of Instant, dear,’ said kind-hearted Sally. 1968J. Porter Dover goes to Pott iii. 40 She offered the two detectives a cup of coffee..with..the assurance that there was plenty more instant in the tin. 1973‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird i. 4 He had the kettle on and the Instant on the table.
▪ III. † ˈinstant, v. Obs.
[a. OF. instanter (1508 in Godef.), f. instant instant a.]
1. trans. To urge, press, solicit, importune (a person); to ask for (a thing) urgently. Also absol.
1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 649 Y⊇ Kyng shalbe instauntid to geue yerely vnto his sayd brother, in recompencement of y⊇ sayde duchy .xii. M. li. 1533–4Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 22 §1 To besech and instant your highnes..to fore se and prouide for the perfit suretie..of your..succession. 1541Paynel Catiline xi. 15 b, There was no strete..in all the citie, but Catiline instanted, prouoked, temted, and stered. 1599Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 64 With..teares of love, instanting and importuning no other thing at their hands. 1687N. Johnston Assur. Abbey Lands 89 All the Bishops Instanted the Lords, that they would consent.
2. intr. To be close at hand, impend, draw near.
1541Paynel Catiline xii. 17 The tyme instantynge to chose the consuls. |