What does immediately mean?
Immediately means without delay, at once, or as soon as possible. It is a standard and useful adverb in formal and informal English, appearing in instructions, reports, urgent messages, and ordinary conversation: “Contact the hospital immediately.” The word can also indicate that something occurs directly before or after another event: “The meeting begins immediately after lunch.” When used as an adjective, it describes something happening at once, often in the phrase “immediate action” or “an immediate response.” Its meaning can sometimes include the idea of urgency, especially when the situation is serious, but it is not inherently emotional. In everyday use, alternatives such as “right away” and “at once” may sound more conversational. The precise form “immediately” is especially common in official instructions, safety notices, and professional communication.
At once, without delay, or as soon as possible; directly before or after a particular time or event.
"The announcement was followed immediately by an emergency alert."
The meaning “directly before or after” is especially common in the phrases “immediately before” and “immediately after.”
Happening or available at once, without delay.
"The manager promised an immediate response."
Chiefly used predicatively, though “immediate action,” “immediate attention,” and “immediate results” are established noun uses.
The word “immediately” is built around the idea of no gap in time: it comes from Latin roots meaning “without anything in between.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of immediately
The word comes through English from the Latin adverb “immediate,” meaning “without intervention” or “without anything in between.” That form developed from Latin “in-” and “medius,” meaning “middle,” together with an adjectival suffix. The English adverb “immediately” was formed by adding the suffix “-ly” to “immediate,” and it has been in use since the early 16th century. The same Latin root also underlies words such as “mediate” and “intermediary.”
Related word forms
How immediately is actually used
In formal writing, “immediately” is precise and less conversational than “right away.” In the phrase “immediately before” or “immediately after,” it describes adjacency in time or sequence. As an adjective, it is mainly used predicatively, as in “The response was immediate.”