Momentane

Momentane is a German adjective form meaning current or present, used to describe a state or condition in the present moment or that is temporary. It is the form that appears when the adjective momentan is declined in attributive position after a definite article or possessive determiner, yielding endings such as momentane in singular and die momentanen Situationen in plural. The base form momentan has other inflections as well, for example der momentane Zustand, die momentane Situation, das momentane Ereignis, die momentanen Zustände, die momentanen Situationen.

Grammatical notes show that momentane is part of the weak declension pattern used after definite articles. In masculine, feminine, or neuter singular after der, die, or das, the attributive form takes -e: der momentane Zustand, die momentane Situation, das momentane Ereignis. In plural after definite articles, the ending is -en: die momentanen Zustände, die momentanen Situationen. The form momentane is thus not a separate word but the inflected adjective used to modify a noun.

Nuance and usage: Momentane emphasizes a state tied to the present moment or a condition that may change. It is common in both spoken and written German and often contrasts with synonyms that carry different shades, such as aktuell (up-to-date, broader in scope) or gegenwärtig (present in the sense of the current time). Momentane is typically appropriate when describing something that is true right now but may be temporary.

Etymology: The adjective derives from Moment, with the suffix -an, forming a German adjective sense related to the idea of a point in time. The root traces back to Latin momentum via the German word for a moment.

See also: Moment, Momentan, Gegenwärtig, Aktuell.