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istante

instant; moment

noun ee-STAHN-teh Less Common
Time Time Expressions

Origin: Latin instans (pressing, present), from instare (to stand upon)

Usage Note

Istante is more emphatic than momento — it stresses the brevity of a moment: in un istante (in an instant). The phrase all'istante means 'immediately.' Note that while momento is masculine, istante is also masculine (un istante). The plural istanti is regular. In formal literary Italian you may see nell'istante in cui (the instant that).

Examples

"Aspetta un istante, per favore."

Natural Translation

Wait a moment, please.

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