heated moment
- noun
- But even in those heated moments of blithering anger, there is certain behavior that should never be exhibited or condoned.
Examples
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During that heated moment, he made a promise he was not sure he could keep.
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"I had a lot of heated moments with Daniel," I interrupted.
Fiction book (1995) -
And in the most heated moment, he defended U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice against criticism of things she said after the attack on the American in Benghazi, Libya.
Blog text (6) -
In a heated moment, I shouted at my best friend without thinking about the consequences.
-
The argument escalated quickly, and in a heated moment, she stormed out of the room.
Synonyms
A sudden strong show of feeling like anger or laughter
A short, strong period of activity or feeling
When you feel strong feelings and act without thinking
A sudden strong feeling such as anger or excitement
A strong feeling of joy and energy that makes you unable to sit still
A sudden short time when many strong feelings happen at once
Antonyms
How Heated
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is transparently built from 'heated' (emotionally intense) + 'moment' (a short interval), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a brief period of strong feeling or impulsive behavior. This is a regular adjective+noun composition and a cross-linguistically common way to express short intense episodes, making the meaning immediately accessible.
Etymology
Heated moment uses the image of heated as feeling hot or angry and moment as a very short time. So, it means a short time when someone feels 'strong emotion' and may 'say or do things without thinking'.