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.
When longtime announcer Don Pardo asks Kroeger’s milquetoast contender, “When is the next reappearance of Halley’s Comet scheduled?” a buzzer instantly cuts him off.
From Salon
"When we gave sugar to the mice in hypoxia, it disappeared from their bloodstream almost instantly," says Yolanda Martí-Mateos, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Jain's lab and first author of the new study.
From Science Daily
Arsenal are still in a superb position in every competition – positions they would have instantly signed up for in August.
From BBC
A German listener can instantly narrow the options, ruling out masculine or neuter singular nouns.
From Science Daily
That’s the funny part about Keller’s goal: It instantly eclipsed another outrageous goal, which happened with Team USA down 1-0 and three-quarters of the way out the door.
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.
