How to use timely in a sentence

34 example sentences · adjective, adverb

Timely means done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt. Example: “His assumption of secretarial duties was timely.”

Examples of timely by meaning

adjectiveDone at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt.

If the whistleblower submitted a timely response, pursuant to Step 9, the Claims Review Staff will consider the issues, along with any supporting documentation, and make its Proposed Final Determination.2012, Frederick D. Lipman, Whistleblowers, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, →ISBN, page 201

adverbIn good time; early, quickly.

If I had been born more timely, he said, Rhaegar would have married me instead of Elia, and it would all have come out different.2000 August 8, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, “Daenerys [Targaryen]”, in A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; 3), London...

adverbIn compliance with applicable time limits.

The defendant timely appeals.1998, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, US v. Merino-Balderrama
Under this rule, Clay's § 2255 petition was timely filed.2003, United States Supreme Court, Clay v. United States

More sentences with timely

His assumption of secretarial duties was timely.From the entry assumption
A false positive from a cancer screening test will unnecessarily frighten a healthy person; a false negative will deprive them of timely treatment.From the entry false positive
While a false positive from a cancer screening test will unnecessarily frighten a healthy person, a false negative will deprive them of timely treatment.From the entry false negative
This was finely targeted and timely broadcast of stuff dealers would want to drop everything to watch.2004, Brian Mooney, Barry Simpson, Breaking News: How the Wheels Came off at Reuters, page 114. From the entry wallpaper
A reinspection may be conducted if any of the violations are not permanently corrected in a timely manner.(Can we date this quote?), “Color-Coded Placard Program”, in Sonoma County, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2026, page 1. From the entry reinspection
This year, to borrow a timely phrase from our late Queen Elizabeth II, has been the annus horribilus for the railways.2022 December 28, Christian Wolmar, “Annus horribilus must mark a turning point for our railway”, in RAIL, number 973, page 44. From the entry annus horribilis
Wasn't every crime, no matter how complex, solved in a timely fashion by either a professional or a hobbyist?2013 March 25, David Sedaris, "Long Way Home" in The New Yorker. From the entry detective
The resulting package is part temporary and part permanent, part timely and part untimely, part targeted and part untargeted.2009 January 30, David Brooks, “Cleaner and Faster”, in New York Times. From the entry untargeted
The "soldier's housewife" was a small sewing kit that was carried to make timely repairs to clothing and equipment.1997, David L. Phillips, A Soldier's Story, MetroBooks, →ISBN, page 61. From the entry housewife
Your recent issue about the problems of electronic software piracy or "freebooting" — if you will — was excellent and timely.1982, InfoWorld, volume 4, number 15, page 30. From the entry freebooting
As we approach the midpoint of the year, it is timely to offer a scorecard on the ministerial achievements towards these aims.2023 June 14, Christian Wolmar, “Ministerial report makes depressing reading for the railway”, in RAIL, number 985, page 44. From the entry spoiler alert
"Ruu": The adults in the village all said that children like me could calm the lightning and turn the storms into timely rain.2021 October 13, Genshin Impact, v2.2, miHoYo, iOS, Android, Windows, PS4, level/area: The Sun-Wheel and Mt. Kanna. From the entry lightning
A ray of light amid all this nonsense was Gwyn Topham's piece in the Guardian, which was timely, measured, accurate and of appropriate tone.2020 August 26, Nigel Harris, “Comment Special: Catastrophe at Carmont”, in Rail, page 4. From the entry drivel
Certainly, an advantage to activating read receipts is that they hold us accountable to not only responding, but doing so in a timely fashion.2018 February 13, Holly Cabrera, “Don't show me the (read) receipts”, in The McGill Tribune, archived from the original on 16 May 2024. From the entry r-bomb
The obituaries and public conversations surrounding timely movie star deaths work as summings-up, final assessments of worth before the dirt hits the cultural coffin lid.2012 September 16, Ty Burr, “Not fade away? All stars die, but their stardom can be a different story”, in Boston Sunday Globe, volume…. From the entry summing-up
“Monsieur Verdoux” may once again be timely, but the audacity of its statement derives less from Chaplin’s antiwar polemic than from his antiheroic pose.2008 June 8, J. Hoberman, “When Chaplin Became the Enemy”, in New York Times. From the entry antiheroic
It called for a rights framework which delivered a "clear, consistent and timely rights regime for all platforms" and minimum holdback periods.2007, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee, New media and the creative industries. From the entry holdback
This timely mnemonic links the season with the action of the same time: In the spring, the time springs forward by an hour.2002, John B. Arden, “Tricking Yourself into Remembering”, in Improving Your Memory for Dummies (For Dummies), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley…. From the entry spring forward, fall back
An adult male vicugna will never copulate with a female alpaca unless the first has been timely imprinted to a member of the second species.1981, Hernando De Macedo, Note on Vicuna X Alpaca hybrids, page 1. From the entry pacovicuna
The Kashih Military Subdistrict has sent work teams in a timely way to sum up Chiehshih County experience in organizing and consolidating the militia.[1972 December 27 [1972 December 19], “Party, PLA Strengthen Sinkiang Militia-Building Work”, in Daily Report: People's Republic of China…. From the entry Ch'ieh-shih
Frequently he brought his points home with topical allusions: timely newspaper clippings or public utterances, constituting a sort of sottisier or scrapbook of contemporary fatuities.1961, Harry Levin, Irving Babbitt and the Teaching of Literature, Harvard University Press, page 10. From the entry sottisier
One thing Tuchel did not need to learn was how important Kane is to England, as the captain proved once again he has the knack for a timely goal.2026 June 6, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 New Zealand”, in BBC. From the entry put one's feet up
I can buy a new ‘Mazdarati’!’ However, if you aren't recording your bills into MYOB in a timely manner, how can you know what you have available to spend?2023 October 3, Sonya Prosper, “The Part of Tens”, in MYOB For Dummies, 9 edition, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 447. From the entry Mazdarati
Weeks later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report about the substance, an indication of how drug checking can offer timely warnings for users.2022 December 24, Noah Weiland, “A High-Tech Strategy for Keeping Drug Users Safe: Analyzing Their Fentanyl”, in The New York Times. From the entry metonitazene
This is an effort that I believe is rare and timely given current events, such as the apparent increase in UAP incidents through official military channels.2019 October 23, M J Banias, “This Silicon Valley Startup Is Dedicated to Detecting UFOs Off the California Coast”, in Vice Magazine, →ISSN. From the entry UAP
It noted that “a ship′s master should not be discouraged from taking timely action to avert a disaster,” and need not be in actual peril to claim general average.2008, Filiberto Agusti, Beverley Earle, Richard Schaffer, Filiberto Agusti, Beverley Earle, International Business Law and Its…. From the entry average
Masquerading as a music documentary, Sympathy For The Devil is actually part fly-on-the-wall studio footage, part timely political document, and part '60s euro art film kookfest.A New Leaf Media, The Pundit 2006. From the entry kookfest
The previsit process is vital to ensuring accurate and timely receipt of information regarding the patient's ability to pay, yet many medical practices ignore this process.2004, Deborah L. Walker, Sara M. Larch, Elizabeth W. Woodcock, The Physician Billing Process, →ISBN. From the entry previsit
Thereby, it addresses higher level order in a proteome, referred to as the toponome, coding cell functions by topologically and timely determined webs of interacting proteins.2003 2003, Walter Shubert, “Topological Proteomics, Toponomics, MELK-Technology”, in Proteomics of Microorganisms, page 189. From the entry toponome
This study of Kutch today and yesterday is timely, since the State has now lost its centurieslong isolation and is making a vital contribution to the new India.2000, The Black Hills: Kutch in History and Legend: A Study in Indian Local Loyalties, Ahmedabad: Sahitya Mudranalaya Pvt. Ltd., front flap. From the entry centurieslong

Meaning of timely

adjective Done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt.
adjective Happening or appearing at the proper time.
adjective Keeping time or measure.

Full definition of timely

Questions about timely in a sentence

How do you use timely in a sentence?: Timely is used as an adjective and adverb. For example: “His assumption of secretarial duties was timely.”
What is a short sentence with timely?: “The defendant timely appeals.”
What does timely mean?: Timely means done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt.

Adapted from Wiktionary: timely (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use timely in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/timely. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.