immediacy
Americannoun
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immediacies
plural
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the state, condition, or quality of being immediate.
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Often immediacies. an immediate need.
the immediacies of everyday living.
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Philosophy.
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immediate presence of an object of knowledge to the mind, without any distortions, inferences, or interpretations, and without involvement of any intermediate agencies.
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the direct content of the mind as distinguished from representation or cognition.
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of immediacy
First recorded in 1595–1605; immedi(ate) + -acy
Explanation
Use the noun immediacy to talk about the lighting-fast speed with which something happens. If you order pizza and see the delivery driver pull up in front of your house two minutes later, you'll be amazed at the immediacy of your pizza's arrival. Something that's immediate, or instantaneous, has the quality of immediacy. Another way to use this noun is to mean "directly," or "firsthand." For example, when people first viewed live news reports on television, they probably marveled at the immediacy of watching something as it was happening, directly and without delay. Immediacy has been in use since about 1600, and it comes from the adjective immediate, with its Latin root of immediatus, "without anything in between."
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.
See Examples For:
After a series of drone attacks on ships off the coast, the conflict in Ukraine has taken on a new immediacy for residents of Krapets, a tiny Bulgarian Black Sea fishing village.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
When Pete Townshend debuted “Tommy” for Cohn in the late ’60s, the rock opera lacked that same sense of immediacy.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Videos shared on social media can make unverified claims appear more believable, he says, because of their immediacy, describing this as "one of the most significant differences" between the current digital environment and earlier outbreaks.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“When people are living together, there’s the opportunity for spontaneous interaction, rather than formal events. There’s immediacy to connecting when people are in the same space.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
I knew their terrible life so intimately that I was startled by the immediacy of seeing her in person for the first time.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
I was engaging with the middle and upper class for the first time – it was surreal, seeing people who didn’t have to worry about the immediacies of life.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 13, 2020
Under the steely immediacies of England's sky, it should make sensational reading.
From Time Magazine Archive
In almost everything he discussed with the leaders of Asia, President Nixon found it necessary to deal in immediacies: a shooting war, changing alliances, a U.S. troop withdrawal that has already begun.
From Time Magazine Archive
The ancient schisms of the Christian church can seem far removed, sometimes, from the exciting immediacies of Park Avenue.
From Time Magazine Archive
For he saw that amidst these petty immediacies he had lost touch with God.
From Soul of a Bishop by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
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