presently
UK/ˈpɹɛzəntli/
presently adverb: immediately, at once; quickly.
Adverb
presently (comparative more presently, superlative most presently)
- Immediately, at once; quickly.
- Polonius: My lord, the queen would speak with you, and presently.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- And presently the fig tree withered away.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 21:19
- Before long; soon.
- Presently all was quiet again.
- It[…]is the greatest example of lenity in our Saviour, when he desired of God forgiveness unto those, who having one day brought him into the City in triumph, did presently after, act all dishonour upon him, and nothing could be heard but, Crucifige, in their Courts.1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.3
- At present; now; currently.
- The towns and forts you presently have.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
- To all of you, therefore, who call Wales your motherland, whether you presently inhabit some other portion of the globe or breathe the air of your cloud-kissed country […].1891, The Welsh Review, No.1 (November 1891). "A Word to the Welsh People." p.1
- Synonyms:
- right now, at the moment
- With actual presence; in actuality.
- March 27 1545, Stephen Gardiner, letter to Thomas Smith and MAtthew PArker
if they perceyve not presently, it shal be wel doon to bringe them to conformite
- March 27 1545, Stephen Gardiner, letter to Thomas Smith and MAtthew PArker
presently meaning in Marathi, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
presently in Marathi
- at present; now; currently — see also at present, now, currently
- सध्या sadhyā
presently in Urdu
- presently; now; in the current moment
- بالفعل bilfi'l
presently in Bengali
- presently, now
- ইদানীং idaniṅ
presently in Malayalam
- താമസിയാതെ, ഇപ്പോൾതന്നെ, ഉടനെ, നേരേ
More languagesFewer languages
- presently in Kannada
- ಸದ್ಯ sadya
- presently in Persian
- به زودی be zudi
Examples of presently in a sentence
- I shall forget you presently, my dear, / So make the most of this, your little day, / Your little month, your little half a year, / Ere I forget, or die, or move away,1921, Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Sonnet IV”, in A Few Figs from Thistles:
- ‘I shall presently be getting a call to tell me of that.’1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 55:
Synonyms of presently
Forms of presently
| comparative | more presently |
|---|---|
| superlative | most presently |
| alternative form | præsently |
Origin of presently
From Middle English presently; equivalent to present + -ly.
Questions about presently
- What does presently mean?
- Presently means immediately, at once; quickly.
- What is presently in Marathi?
- Presently in Marathi is सध्या (sadhyā). See Presently meaning in Marathi.
- How do you use presently in a sentence?
- I shall forget you presently, my dear, / So make the most of this, your little day, / Your little month, your little half a year, / Ere I forget, or die, or move away,
- What part of speech is presently?
- Presently is an adverb.
- How do you pronounce presently?
- Presently is pronounced /ˈpɹɛzəntli/ (UK).
Words near presently in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: presently (page history and authors); بالفعل (Urdu) (page history and authors); ইদানীং (Bengali) (page history and authors); presently (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಸದ್ಯ (Kannada) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-presently.ogg.
Cite this entry: “presently.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/presently. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.