TOEIC Link Part 5: eminent versus imminent

Eminent and imminent look almost identical on the page and reduce to a similar sound in fast speech, but they describe two completely different ideas, and Part 5 builds questions around exactly that kind of near-twin pair. Eminent is an adjective about reputation — it means distinguished, famous, or highly respected in a field. Imminent is an adjective about time — it means about to happen, very near, on the verge of occurring. The words around the slot tell you whether the sentence is praising a person or warning that an event is close. For the broader skill of matching the answer to the grammatical role and meaning of the slot, see word choice versus word form.

The core rule: reputation versus nearness

• eminent describes standing or distinction. It modifies people and their achievements: an eminent economist / an eminent authority on tax law / her eminent career in research.
• imminent describes something about to occur. It modifies events, changes, and outcomes: an imminent deadline / the imminent launch / an imminent shortage of parts.

A memory hook: eminent starts with the same e as esteemed and excellent — both about being highly regarded. Imminent contains immediate, which is about time being short.

How to read the slot

• Modifying a person or their reputation → eminent. If the slot describes a speaker, scholar, expert, or their distinguished record, you want eminent: The keynote was delivered by an (blank) researcher → eminent.
• Modifying an event or change that is near → imminent. If the slot describes a deadline, arrival, decision, or threat that is about to happen, you want imminent: Staff were warned of an (blank) system outage → imminent.

The fastest test: ask whether the noun being modified is a who or a when. A respected person points to eminent; an event that is nearly here points to imminent.

Common Part 5 traps

• Business contexts love imminent. Deadlines, launches, closures, mergers, and shortages are all events, so imminent is the natural fit in announcement-style sentences. If the slot precedes a noun like deadline or change, scan for imminent first.
• People and credentials point to eminent. Bios, introductions, and award citations describe standing, so eminent fits there. Watch for nouns like expert, figure, or scholar.
• Do not choose by sound. The two reduce to nearly the same vowel in casual speech, so the only reliable signal is meaning: distinction versus nearness.
• A rarer third option, imminent versus immanent. Immanent (inherent, built in) almost never appears on TOEIC; if you see it as a distractor, treat it as the trap and choose based on the who-or-when test above.

Quick check

Decide whether the slot describes a respected person or an event about to happen, then choose.

1. The panel included several (blank) specialists in international trade.
2. Customers were notified of an (blank) price increase taking effect next week.
3. The award honored her work as an (blank) figure in medical research.
4. The team scrambled to prepare for the (blank) product recall.

Answers: 1. eminent (respected people) 2. imminent (event about to happen) 3. eminent (distinguished figure) 4. imminent (a recall that is near).

The takeaway

Eminent and imminent differ by a couple of letters and sound nearly the same, so read the noun rather than trusting your ear: a respected person or distinguished record means you want eminent, while a deadline, launch, or change that is about to happen means you want imminent. When in doubt, ask whether the slot answers who or when. For more pairs where meaning alone decides the answer, see stationary versus stationery and complement versus compliment.