immediacy

American  

[ih-mee-dee-uh-see] / ɪˈmi di ə si /

noun

plural

immediacies

1. the state, condition, or quality of being immediate.

2. Often immediacies. an immediate need.

   the immediacies of everyday living.

3. Philosophy.

   1. immediate presence of an object of knowledge to the mind, without any distortions, inferences, or interpretations, and without involvement of any intermediate agencies.

   2. the direct content of the mind as distinguished from representation or cognition.

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Etymology

Origin of immediacy

First recorded in 1595–1605; immedi(ate) + -acy

Example Sentences

Plain language, ordinary intimacies—Ebert’s directness makes it possible to feel the moment with nearly the same unbearable immediacy that Penn creates in the film.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

When I hear the word potluck, I am transported, with a kind of olfactory immediacy, to the basement of my grandmother’s church.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

Alternative statutory paths remain available to the administration, while none confer the same breadth or immediacy as IEEPA.

From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026

“Part of what we’re trying to do is have that immediacy, like, you’re not many, many steps removed from the reader,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Two Theoretical Results A large part of the attraction of probability theory is the immediacy and intuitive appeal of its practical problems and of the simple principles which enable us to solve many of them.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• closeness