momentarily

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UK/ˈməʊməntəɹəli/UK/məʊmənˈtɛɹəli/

adverb

In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.

“The system will restart momentarily.”

Similar
brieflypresentlyincrementallyshortlysoontemporarilyprogressivelystep by step
Less commonScrabble 18
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Meanings

adverbmomentarily (not comparable)
  1. not comparablemannerIn a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.

    I imagined momentarily that it was four score and seven years ago, that I had just been brought forth from my mother[…]

    2010 December 23, Phillip Roth, “Prologue”, in The Great American Novel, →ISBN, page 21
    1 more example

    The numbers thin out the further we get from London, so I don't feel guilty when I remove my mask momentarily to scoff some of the snacks I'd bought at Marylebone.

    2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68

    Synonyms: briefly

  2. USnot comparableproscribeddurationIn a moment or very soon; any minute now, any time now.

    The system will restart momentarily.

    1 more example

    He told me, further, that the second coming was at hand--was looked for momentarily in Jerusalem.

    1880, Lew Wallace, chapter 3, in Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ

    Synonyms: presently

  3. not comparableProgressively; moment by moment.

    Synonyms: incrementally

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.

Similar
briefly

adverbIn a moment or very soon; any minute now, any time now.

Similar
presently

adverbProgressively; moment by moment.

Similar
incrementally
Similar
shortlysoontemporarilyprogressivelystep by step

More synonyms by meaning

adverbfor an instant or moment

Similar
momently

adverbat any moment

Similar
momently
Also see
awhileephemerallygraduallymomentallymomentlysoontemporarily

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From momentary + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian моментно, мигновено
  • моментно (momentno)In a momentary manner
  • мигновено (mignoveno)In a moment or very soon
Dutch even, zo
  • evenIn a momentary manner
  • zoIn a moment or very soon
Esperanto momente, momente
  • momenteIn a momentary manner
  • momenteIn a moment or very soon
Finnish hetkeksi, hetkellisesti
  • hetkeksiIn a momentary manner
  • hetkellisestiIn a momentary manner
  • koska hyvänsäIn a moment or very soon
  • millä hetkellä hyvänsäIn a moment or very soon
French brièvement
  • brièvementIn a momentary manner
German momentan, jeden Moment
  • momentanIn a momentary manner
  • jeden MomentIn a moment or very soon
  • jeden AugenblickIn a moment or very soon
Hungarian egy pillanatra, hamarosan
  • egy pillanatraIn a momentary manner
  • hamarosanIn a moment or very soon
Japanese 間も無く
  • 間も無く (mamonaku)In a moment or very soon
Malay seketika
  • seketikaIn a momentary manner
Norwegian straks, veldig snart
  • straksIn a moment or very soon
  • veldig snartIn a moment or very soon
  • øyeblikkeligIn a moment or very soon
Norwegian Bokmål momentant
  • momentantIn a momentary manner
Polish chwilowo
  • chwilowoIn a momentary manner
Romanian momentan, imediat
  • momentanIn a momentary manner
  • imediatIn a moment or very soon
Russian вско́ре
  • вско́ре (vskóre)In a moment or very soon
Spanish momentariamente, por un momento
  • momentariamenteIn a momentary manner
  • por un momentoIn a momentary manner
  • en un momentoIn a moment or very soon
Cite this entry
APA

momentarily. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/momentarily

MLA

“momentarily.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/momentarily. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “momentarily,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/momentarily.

Source: momentarily on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.