Momentary Meaning
/ˈmoʊmənˌtɛɹi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLasting for only a moment.
adjHappening at every moment; perpetual.
Sentence Examples
There was a momentary pause.
He gave a momentary glance to the passers by.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Fortunately, the sudden electrical blackout was ____, lasting only a few seconds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt a ____ sense of panic when he couldn't find his car keys in his jacket pocket, but then he remembered leaving them inside.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English momentare, from Late Latin mōmentārius (“of brief duration”), from mōmentum (“a short time, an instant”). By surface analysis, moment + -ary.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Yet oh! what an immense difference did I feel between this impression of a pleasure merely animal, and struck out of the collision of the sexes by a passive bodily effect, from that sweet fury, that rage of active delight which crowns the enjoyments of a mutual love-passion, where two hearts, tenderly and truly united, club to exalt the joy, and give it a spirit and soul that bids defiance to that end which mere momentary desires generally terminate in, when they die of a surfeit of satisfaction!"
— 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
"Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one,[…].”"
— 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
"My eyes are bleeding / They've searched for someone else / Addicted to the hunt / And end up somewhere else / Where the expendable souls go / There must be more to this / I'm right in here / Stare through a glass wall / I tell you this my friend / We must be bigger / Than momentary bliss / Don't let the light you see restrain you / Don't put your trust in the dark outside / There will be more than you ever could die for / This momentary bliss is a lie / 'Cause my eyes they are bleeding / I'm off to treasure a brand new emotion / I'm taking off like a demon of fate / I reckon something will see my devotion"
— 2013, “This Momentary Bliss”, in The Living Infinite, performed by Soilwork:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Fortunately, the sudden electrical blackout was ____, lasting only a few seconds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt a ____ sense of panic when he couldn't find his car keys in his jacket pocket, but then he remembered leaving them inside.