Is there any word with the same meaning as imminent, with a positive connotation? The sentence is " This discovery has an imminent impact on the technology".
Is imminent itself appropriate?
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2Why do you feel that imminent isn't positive? It is used frequently in the phrase "imminent danger", but on its own I don't perceive it as having a negative connotation. It's just a way to say "impending" or "about to occur".– ColleenVDec 15, 2014 at 14:18
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1The sentence sounds strange to me. We might say that the tiger outside your window “presents an imminent danger” or that “recovery is imminent”. You can say “has an imminent impact”, but I wonder if there’s a clearer way, perhaps using the future tense. Maybe something like “This discovery will soon make an impact on the technology.”– Ben KovitzDec 15, 2014 at 20:15
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1If you want something that might sound more neutral, consider immediate. Also, try Wordnik. That's where I found immediate – in that list of synonyms at the bottom.– J.R. ♦Dec 15, 2014 at 22:48
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1 Answer
Imminent does not have a positive or negative connotation, in my experience. It simply means that something is about to happen. So imminent impact is appropriate if you mean to say that the impact will happen within a short time, regardless of whether the impact will be positive or negative.
