momentary

[moh-muh n-ter-ee] /ˈmoʊ mənˌtɛr i/

adjective

lasting but a moment; very brief; fleeting:

a momentary glimpse.

that might occur at any moment; ever impending:

to live in fear of momentary annihilation.

effective or recurring at every moment; constant.

Origin

1425-75; late Middle English momentare < Latin mōmentārius. See moment, -ary

Related forms

momentariness, noun

intermomentary, adjective

nonmomentariness, noun

nonmomentary, adjective

Examples from the web for momentary

The degree of panic, however momentary, however fleeting is chilling.
They feared that all they might see would be a momentary brightening of some of the inner moons.
Some would say cruel, but it is a necessary event that is only momentary in pain for all involved.
The battery system will have a fast response time to address voltage fluctuations and momentary outages.
Most of the time, this only requires a momentary boost in your concentration.
All it takes is one momentary lapse of judgment and your system can be infiltrated.
During this shift in attention vision is suppressed and a patch of momentary blindness occurs.
It is then placed into momentary thermal contact with a heat sink, which absorbs any heat and entropy that the polymer has.
Human errors are often put down to a momentary loss of concentration.
But if it is fair to call that a momentary mis-step, it was soon put right.

British Dictionary definitions for momentary

/ˈməʊməntərɪ; -trɪ/

adjective

lasting for only a moment; temporary

Derived Forms

momentariness, noun

Word Origin and History for momentary

adj.

"lasting a moment," mid-15c., from Latin momentarius "of brief duration," from momentum (see moment).