imminence
State of impending
Imminence is the quality of being about to happen—the sense that something is close at hand and approaching fast.
The word usually attaches to consequential events: the imminence of war, the imminence of death.
Where *imminent* describes the event itself, imminence names the hovering quality of its nearness.
Nearness in space
- adventNotable arrival or emergence
- onsetStarting point of something
- nearnessState of being close
- arrivalAct of reaching destination
threshold · closeness · impending · coming · at hand · around the corner · on the horizon · encroaching
Serious threat of harm
hazard · crisis · looming · shadow · specter · cloud · overhang · gathering storm
Belief about future outcomes
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- premonitionAdvance sense of future events
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
- awaitingStaying until something arrives
apprehension · watchfulness · vigilance · readiness · preparation · anxiety · trepidation · dread
Time limit for completion
- pressureForce upon contact
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- time-sensitiveRequiring prompt action
- pressingRequiring immediate attention
imperative · immediacy · exigency · haste · race against time · eleventh hour · crunch time · last minute
proximity
Nearness in space
arrival · threshold · closeness · impending · coming · at hand · around the corner · on the horizon · encroaching · convergence
peril
Serious threat of harm
jeopardy · hazard · crisis · looming · shadow · specter · cloud · overhang · gathering storm · sword of Damocles
expectation
Belief about future outcomes
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- premonitionAdvance sense of future events
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
awaiting · apprehension · watchfulness · vigilance · readiness · preparation · anxiety · trepidation · dread · tension
deadline
Time limit for completion
- pressureForce upon contact
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- time-sensitiveRequiring prompt action
pressing · imperative · immediacy · exigency · haste · race against time · eleventh hour · crunch time · last minute · now or never
- legal defensesself-defense, alibi, affirmative defense, insanity defense, insanity
imminenceremoteness
Quality of being faraway
distance · farness · long-term · eventuality · deferral
imminencesafety
Freedom from harm
security · aversion · prevention · impossibility · protection
- imminent dangerThreat about to occur
- imminent threatDanger about to occur
- imminent harmDanger very close ahead