Definition of: imminent

(im′ə·nənt) adjective
1. About to happen; impending; said especially of danger or evil.
2. Overhanging as if about to fall. [<L imminens, -entis <imminere lean over, impend <in- on + -minere project]
—im′mi·nent·ly adverb Synonyms: impending, threatening. Imminent, from the Latin, with the sense of projecting over, signifies liable to happen at once, as some calamity, dangerous and close at hand. Impending, also from the Latin, with the sense of hanging over, is closely akin to imminent, but somewhat less emphatic. Imminent is more immediate, impending more remote, threatening more contingent. An impending evil is almost sure to happen at some uncertain time, near or remote; an imminent peril is one liable to befall very speedily; a threatening peril may be near or remote, but always with hope that it may be averted. Antonyms: chimerical, contingent, doubtful, improbable, problematical, unexpected, unlikely.