immediate

[ ih-mee-dee-it ]

/ ɪˈmi di ɪt /

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See synonyms for: immediate / immediately on Thesaurus.com

adjective

occurring or accomplished without delay; instant: an immediate reply.

following or preceding without a lapse of time: the immediate future.

having no object or space intervening; nearest or next: in the immediate vicinity.

of or relating to the present time or moment: our immediate plans.

without intervening medium or agent; direct: an immediate cause.

having a direct bearing: immediate consideration.

being family members who are very closely related to oneself, usually including one’s parents, siblings, spouse, and children: my immediate family;her immediate kin;his immediate relatives.

Philosophy. directly intuited.

OTHER WORDS FOR immediate

1 instantaneous.

3 close, proximate.

See synonyms for immediate on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR immediate

1 delayed, deferred.

3 distant, far.

See antonyms for immediate on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of immediate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin immediātus; see im-², mediate (adjective)

OTHER WORDS FROM immediate

im·me·di·ate·ness, nounim·me·di·ate·ly, adverbqua·si-im·me·di·ate, adjectiveun·im·me·di·ate, adjective

un·im·me·di·ate·ness, noun

Words nearby immediate

immaterialize, immature, immaturity, immeasurable, immediacy, immediate, immediate annuity, immediate constituent, immediate family, immediately, immediatism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use immediate in a sentence

Still, the family maintains that immediate medical attention should have been provided.
The policing reforms in the Breonna Taylor settlement, explained|Fabiola Cineas|September 17, 2020|Vox
Asked Wednesday why that is the case, Biden replied, “I’ve been out of office for four years,” arguing that voters do not have an immediate sense of the progress the Obama administration made.
Biden questions whether a vaccine approved by Trump would be safe|Sean Sullivan|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
Three in five voters in Wisconsin express worries that they or someone in their immediate family might contract the coronavirus, with about a quarter overall saying they are very worried.
Post-ABC Wisconsin poll shows Biden holding narrow edge over Trump|Dan Balz, Emily Guskin|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
There was an immediate need to know where their employees are.
Are you ready to start traveling for work again? TripActions’ CEO is banking on it|Michal Lev-Ram, writer|September 15, 2020|Fortune

The reprieve takes some of the immediate heat off, but change is coming and a lot of businesses aren’t prepared.
Deep Dive: How the Summer of 2020 forced brand marketing to change for the better|jim cooper|September 14, 2020|Digiday
It is grandstanding for a right rarely protected unless under immediate attack.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Their immediate response tells an important truth about a police slowdown that has spread throughout New York City in recent days.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Analysts interpreted it as an immediate ripple effect of the newly established US-Cuban détente.
Venezuela Says Goodbye to Its Lil Friend, While the Rest of the Continent Cheers|Catalina Lobo-Guererro|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
During the immediate protests for Michael Brown I walked in the crowd solo and mostly silent.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting|Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
JUDNICK: The immediate supremacist reaction is to equalize everything.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting|Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The intricacies and abrupt turns in the road separated him from his immediate followers.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
It consists in finding relations between the objects of thought with an immediate awareness of those relations.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
All immediate danger having now been dispelled, the Spaniards solaced themselves with the sweets of revenge.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
I perceive no immediate reason for the evacuation of Peking as far as the supply of game is concerned.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
It lay framed within his thoughts, isolated from the rest of life, isolated somehow even from the immediate present.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for immediate

immediate

/ (ɪˈmiːdɪət) /

adjective (usually prenominal)

taking place or accomplished without delayan immediate reaction

closest or most direct in effect or relationshipthe immediate cause of his downfall

having no intervening medium; direct in effectan immediate influence

contiguous in space, time, or relationshipour immediate neighbour

present; currentthe immediate problem is food

philosophy of or relating to an object or concept that is directly known or intuited

logic (of an inference) deriving its conclusion from a single premise, esp by conversion or obversion of a categorial statement

Derived forms of immediate

immediacy or immediateness, noun

Word Origin for immediate

C16: from Medieval Latin immediātus, from Latin im- (not) + mediāre to be in the middle; see mediate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

immediate

OTHER WORDS FOR immediate

OPPOSITES FOR immediate

Origin of immediate

OTHER WORDS FROM immediate

Words nearby immediate

Words related to immediate

How to use immediate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for immediate

Derived forms of immediate

Word Origin for immediate