immediately

English

Etymology

From Middle English immediatly, equivalent to immediate +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪˈmiː.di.ət.li/
  • (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ɪˈmi.di.ɪt.li/, /əˈmi.di.ət.li/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • (colloquial) IPA(key): /ɪˈmiː.d͡ʒət.li/, /əˈmiː.d͡ʒət.li/
  • Hyphenation: im‧me‧di‧ate‧ly, im‧me‧diate‧ly

Adverb

immediately (not comparable)

  1. In an immediate manner; instantly or without delay.
    I hope we can begin immediately.
    • 1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 96:
      His unruly hair was slicked down with water, and as Jessamy introduced him to Miss Brindle his face assumed a cherubic innocence which would immediately have aroused the suspicions of anyone who knew him.
    • 2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport‎[1], archived from the original on 1 February 2012:
      Spain failed to move through the gears despite exerting control for lengthy spells and a measure of perspective must be applied immediately to the outcome.
    • 2026 July 18, Nicholas Muhoro, “Bryce Laspisa Vanished Near Castaic Lake After Spending 13 Hours Parked on a California Highway”, in Skip Boring‎[2], archived from the original on 19 July 2026:
      Because the body was already burned beyond recognition, detectives were not able to immediately determine its gender or identity.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:immediately.
  2. Without any intervening time or space.
    • 1951 June, “British Railways Standard Class "5" 4-6-0 Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 399:
      A tri-tone chime whistle, operated from the cab by a flexible cable passing down the right hand handrail, is mounted on the top of the smokebox immediately behind the chimney.

Synonyms

Translations

Conjunction

immediately

  1. As soon as, the moment that. [from 19th c.]
    Near-synonym: once
    My dog is an open book: immediately he smelled our dinner, he grew more interested in our activities.
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