adverb
-
immediately; at once
-
archaic urgently or insistently
Related Words
See immediately.
Etymology
Origin of instantly
Late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; instant, -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.
An 'I was there' moment on a tour where most of the moments were instantly forgettable.
From BBC
People who have tried coming off the jabs describe it as "a switch that goes on and you're instantly starving".
From BBC
Or similarly, instead of having to need a hundred keys to open a hundred doors in normal computing, quantum enables you to open all one hundred, with one key, instantly.
From BBC
Carroll, who turned 74 this season, was hired as a steady hand whose championship-experience in college and in the pros would make the Raiders instantly competitive.
Lilleaas hadn’t met Trier before her audition, but they instantly bonded over the challenges of raising young kids.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
