directly
Americanadverb
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in a direct line, way, or manner; straight.
The path leads directly to the lake.
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at once; without delay; immediately.
Do that directly.
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They will be here directly.
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exactly; precisely.
directly opposite the store.
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without intervening space; next in order.
The truck was parked directly behind my car.
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openly or frankly; candidly.
He didn't hesitate to speak directly about his debts.
- Synonyms:
- freely
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Mathematics. in direct proportion.
conjunction
adverb
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in a direct manner
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at once; without delay
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immediately; just
conjunction
Related Words
See immediately.
Etymology
Origin of directly
First recorded in 1350–1400, directly is from the Middle English word directli. See direct, -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Scientists at the University of Reading, working with researchers from the University of Southampton and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have developed a method that analyzes urine samples directly.
From Science Daily
In addition, studying the disease directly is complicated, since brain or nerve tissue cannot easily be collected from patients.
From Science Daily
The 70-year-old US-born pope has so far shown diplomatic caution and has not directly condemned his home country's role in the turbulent Middle East region.
From Barron's
In many ways, the American economy is better insulated from the pinch in Persian Gulf exports than other parts of the world because the U.S. is less directly dependent on Mideast suppliers, notably in energy.
Musk believes that space-based AI computing, powered directly by the sun, will be cheaper than terrestrial data centers in just a few years.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
