IMMEDIATELY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does immediately mean? 

• IMMEDIATELY (adverb)
  The adverb IMMEDIATELY has 3 senses:

1. without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

2. near or close by

3. bearing an immediate relation

  Familiarity information: IMMEDIATELY used as an adverb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IMMEDIATELY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

Synonyms:

at once; directly; forthwith; immediately; instantly; like a shot; now; right away; straight off; straightaway

Context example:

Come here now!

Pertainym:

immediate (having no intervening medium)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Near or close by

Context example:

he passed immediately behind her

Pertainym:

immediate (very close or connected in space or time)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Bearing an immediate relation

Context example:

this immediately concerns your future

Pertainym:

immediate (having no intervening medium)

 Context examples 

Every strange or partly familiar word encountered in his reading was immediately jotted down, and later, when a sufficient number had been accumulated, were typed and pinned to the wall or looking-glass.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The cruel reply was passed on to the other, and he immediately walked away.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

“Flag of truce!” I heard someone say; and then, immediately after, with a cry of surprise, “Silver himself!”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

We hardly exchanged a word during breakfast, and immediately afterwards I went out for a walk, that I might think the matter out in the fresh morning air.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Captain Harville had never been in good health since a severe wound which he received two years before, and Captain Wentworth's anxiety to see him had determined him to go immediately to Lyme.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

A study using radioisotope tagged blood components and a nuclear scanning machine to monitor the blood flow to the myocardium during or immediately following exercise.

(Nuclear Stress Test, NCI Thesaurus)

It seems she was romantically given, for she sat down upon her box, which stood immediately under the window, and fell into a dream of musing.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But this was immediately opposed by Tom Bertram, who asserted the part of Amelia to be in every respect the property of Miss Crawford, if she would accept it.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Infants with this disorder develop breathing problems immediately or in a few hours after delivery.

(Hyaline Membrane Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

And, after all, I found their natural smell was much more supportable, than when they used perfumes, under which I immediately swooned away.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)