instantaneous
part of speech
adjective (instantaneous); adverb «instantaneously»
meaning for a pupil
1) Happening immediately, with no delay at all. tree →
2) (science) At one exact instant of time: instantaneous speed. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, light from a nearby lamp seems to arrive instantaneously (it's very fast but not truly instant); in maths and physics, instantaneous speed is the speed at a single moment, like a speedometer reading, compared with average speed over a journey. In everyday life, messages and reactions can be instantaneous. Phrases: instantaneous reaction, almost instantaneous, instantaneous speed.
examples
- The reaction was instantaneous: the mixture fizzed straight away. tree →
- Text messages arrive almost instantaneously. tree →
- The speedometer shows your instantaneous speed. tree →
- When you flick the switch, the light seems instantaneous. tree →
- Her answer was instantaneous; she didn't need to think. tree →
- Death of the cells was instantaneous in the boiling water. tree →
- It was impossible to tell, the shock was so instantaneous. tree →
note
Spelling: in-stan-ta-ne-ous. Similar: «instant», «immediate». In science, average speed = distance ÷ time; instantaneous speed is the speed at one moment, which can be different.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «instantaneous» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.