instantaneous
/ɪnstənˈteɪni.əs/adjective
instantaneous is spelled I-N-S-T-A-N-T-A-N-E-O-U-S: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, instantaneous means “Occurring, arising, or functioning without any delay; happening within an imperceptibly brief period of time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in instantaneous?
| Letters | 13: I-N-S-T-A-N-T-A-N-E-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is instantaneous?
Instantaneous appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce instantaneous?
- /ɪnstənˈteɪni.əs/
Instantaneous has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-instantaneous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does instantaneous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Occurring, arising, or functioning without any delay; happening within an imperceptibly brief period of time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Instantaneous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense occurring, arising, or functioning without any delay; happening within an imperc:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | instantané |
| German | augenblicklich, unverzüglich |
| Portuguese | instantâneo |
| Spanish | instantáneo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does instantaneous come from?
Derived from New Latin īnstāntāneus, from Latin īnstantem. From New Latin īnstāntāneus, from Latin īnstantem.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).