momentarily
/ˈməʊməntəɹəli/adverb
momentarily is spelled M-O-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-L-Y: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, momentarily means “In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in momentarily?
| Letters | 11: M-O-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,798th 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 momentarily?
Momentarily appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th 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 momentarily?
- UK /ˈməʊməntəɹəli/
- UK /məʊmənˈtɛɹəli/
Momentarily 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)-Vealhurl-momentarily.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does momentarily mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.
- 2
USproscribedIn a moment or very soon; any minute now, any time now.
The system will restart momentarily.
- 3
Progressively; moment by moment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Momentarily in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brièvement |
| German | momentan , jeden Moment, jeden Augenblick |
| Spanish | momentariamente, por un momento , en un momento |
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 momentarily come from?
From momentary + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).