recent

Having happened a short while ago.

Adjective

  1. Having happened a short while ago.
    • Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such...

    Synonyms: nudiustertian

  2. Up-to-date; not old-fashioned or dated.
  3. Having done something a short while ago that distinguishes them as what they are called.
    • The cause has several hundred recent donors.
    • I met three recent graduates at the conference.
  4. Particularly in geology, palaeontology, and astronomy: having occurred a relatively short time ago, but still potentially thousands or even millions of years ago.
    • Finding it now means it was produced in more recent times, in astronomical terms. - 2020 October 4, Evan Gough, “We Now Have Proof a Supernova Exploded Perilously Close to Earth 2.5 Million Years Ago”, in Science Alert:

Origin

Borrowed from Latin recēns (genitive recentis).

Forms

more recent most recent

Derived

non-recent nonrecent recency Recent recentish recentism recently recent memory in recent memory recentness semirecent subrecent unrecent

Noun

  1. A recently viewed or accessed item.
    • Obviously, the first time you launch this app, your Recents list is empty. - 2012, Jason R. Rich, Your iPad 2 at Work, page 308:

Forms

recents