Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb Without delay.
  • adverb Without an intermediary; directly.
  • conjunction As soon as; directly.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In an immediate manner; without the intervention of anything; proximately; directly.
  • Without lapse of time; without delay; instantly.
  • Synonyms Instantaneously, promptly, forthwith, straightway.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb In an immediate manner; without intervention of any other person or thing; proximately; directly; -- opposed to mediately.
  • adverb Without interval of time; without delay; promptly; instantly; at once.
  • adverb As soon as. Cf. Directly, 8, Note.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb In an immediate manner; instantly or without delay.
  • conjunction Indicates that the dependent clause describes something that occurs immediately after the independent clause's referent does.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
  • adverb near or close by
  • adverb bearing an immediate relation

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

immediate +‎ -ly

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Examples

  • Of course Obama could not have pre-mobilized before the spill had he done so immediately no engineer on the planet believed what BP was saying, plus there *should* have at least been an inspector *immediately* dispatched to verify, but they should have had resources going out withing 14 days.

    Pigs fly, and the Times chides Obama on the oil spill 2010

  • The real table, if there is one, is not _immediately_ known to us at all, but must be an inference from what is immediately known.

    The Problems of Philosophy Bertrand Russell 1921

  • 'I am anxious,' continued the gentleman, speaking in a low tone, and with a tremulous earnestness that rendered his speech peculiarly emphatic -- 'I am anxious to have painted the portrait of one who is -- who was -- very very dear to me, immediately -- _immediately_, for a few hours may make such a performance impossible.

    Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 454 Volume 18, New Series, September 11, 1852 Various 1841

  • The principle is assumed, that because certain men ought to abandon every sin immediately, therefore, certain other men are bound _immediately_ to try and make them do it.

    An Essay on Slavery and Abolitionism With reference to the duty of American females Catharine Esther Beecher 1839

  • Mr. Huggins was ordered to start serving his term immediately, while Messrs.

    Former Synthes Officers Receive Prison Sentences Peter Loftus 2011

  • "The new CFO takes the title immediately, and Mr. Atkins' retirement will follow an unpaid leave of absence, which is not typical," wrote Mr. Siefers.

    CFO's Departure at Wells Fargo Bewilders Wall Street Matthias Rieker 2011

  • I kicked Milan under the table and her expression immediately registered her confusion.

    Recipe for Love Shamara Ray 2011

  • I kicked Milan under the table and her expression immediately registered her confusion.

    Recipe for Love Shamara Ray 2011

  • Johnson began his term immediately after the death of John F. Kennedy, and as a result had pretty high poll numbers for his entire first term, which only lasted a little over a year.

    Chris Weigant: Obama Poll Watch -- February, 2010 2010

  • Johnson began his term immediately after the death of John F. Kennedy, and as a result had pretty high poll numbers for his entire first term, which only lasted a little over a year.

    Obama Poll Watch -- February, 2010 2010

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