Standard Lemma guide

instantly

adv · conj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈɪnstəntli/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH1 N S T AH0 N T L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

At once; without delay.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • When the neighbours' dog barked, ours instantly replied with a howl.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

Urgently; with insistence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adv

Meaning 3

At the same time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

conj

Meaning 4

As soon as, directly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I phoned instantly I heard you were back.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adverb

Meaning 5

without any delay

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he was killed outright

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: instantaneously, outright, in a flash

Antonyms: none provided

6

adverb

Meaning 6

without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he answered immediately
  • found an answer straightaway
  • an official accused of dishonesty should be suspended forthwith
  • Come here now!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: immediately, straightaway, straight off, directly, now, right away, at once, forthwith, like a shot

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English instant Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English instantly From instant + -ly.

Across languages

Translations

63 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: menjëherë — at once
  • Bulgarian: веднага (vednaga) — at once
  • Bulgarian: незабавно (nezabavno) — at once
  • Catalan: instantàniament — at once
  • Chinese Mandarin: 立即 (lìjí) — at once
  • Czech: okamžitě — at once
  • Czech: ihned — at once
  • Esperanto: tuj — at once
  • Finnish: välittömästi — at once
  • Finnish: heti — at once
  • Finnish: oikopäätä — at once
  • Finnish: oitis — at once
  • French: instantanément — at once
  • Georgian: მაშინვე (mašinve) — at once
  • Georgian: მყისიერად (mq̇isierad) — at once
  • Georgian: უმალ (umal) — at once
  • Georgian: ეგრევე (egreve) — at once
  • German: unmittelbar — at once
  • Greek: αμέσως (amésos) — at once
  • Hindi: हाथों हाथ (haathon haath) — at once
  • Hungarian: azonnal — at once
  • Hungarian: rögtön — at once
  • Hungarian: nyomban — at once
  • Hungarian: tüstént — at once
  • Hungarian: egyszeriben — at once
  • Ido: quik — at once
  • Indonesian: seketika — at once
  • Kazakh: дереу (dereu) — at once
  • Khmer: ភ្លាម (pliem) — at once
  • Latin: iugiter — at once
  • Malay: serta-merta — at once
  • Manchu: ᡠᡨᡥᠠᡳ (uthai) — at once
  • Māori: tangetange — at once
  • Norwegian Bokmål: momentant — at once
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: momentant — at once
  • Old English: ǣdre — at once
  • Polish: natychmiast — at once
  • Polish: od razu — at once
  • Polish: momentalnie — at once
  • Polish: błyskawicznie — at once
  • Portuguese: instantaneamente — at once
  • Romanian: instant — at once
  • Russian: сра́зу (srázu) — at once
  • Scottish Gaelic: anns a' bhad — at once
  • Scottish Gaelic: sa bhad — at once
  • Scottish Gaelic: gu grad — at once
  • Spanish: al instante — at once
  • Spanish: al tiro — at once
  • Spanish: instantáneamente — at once
  • Spanish: en un tris — at once
  • Spanish: en un tris tras — at once
  • Telugu: తక్షణము (takṣaṇamu) — at once
  • Thai: ทันที (tan-tii) — at once
  • Turkish: tezden — at once
  • Turkish: hemen — at once
  • Turkish: anında — at once
  • Turkish: derhâl — at once
  • Ukrainian: за́раз (záraz) — at once
  • Ukrainian: миттє́во (myttjévo) — at once
  • Vietnamese: tức thì — at once
  • French: instamment — urgently; with insistence
  • Hungarian: sürgetve — urgently; with insistence
  • Hungarian: sürgetőleg — urgently; with insistence
Real reading context

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