presently

American  

[prez-uhnt-lee] / ˈprɛz ənt li /

adverb

1. in a little while; soon.

   They will be here presently.

   Synonyms:

   forthwith, shortly

   Antonyms:

   later

2. at the present time; now.

   He is presently out of the country.

3. Archaic. immediately.

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presently British  

/ ˈprɛzəntlɪ /

adverb

1. in a short while; soon

2. at the moment

3. an archaic word for immediately

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Usage

The two apparently contradictory meanings of presently, “in a little while, soon” and “at the present time, now,” are both old in the language. In the latter meaning presently dates back to the 15th century. It is currently in standard use in all varieties of speech and writing in both Great Britain and the United States. The sense “soon” arose gradually during the 16th century. Strangely, it is the older sense “now” that is sometimes objected to by usage guides. The two senses are rarely if ever confused in actual practice. Presently meaning “now” is most often used with the present tense ( The professor is presently on sabbatical leave ) and presently meaning “soon” often with the future tense ( The supervisor will be back presently ). The semantic development of presently parallels that of anon, which first had the meaning, now archaic, of “at once, immediately,” but later came to mean “soon.”

Related Words

See immediately

Etymology

Origin of presently

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at present ¹, -ly

Compare meaning

How does presently compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• presently vs. currently

Explanation

The adverb presently means "very soon." If you tell your sister that you'll be at her house presently, you mean that you're on your way. You might say that the cookies you just put in the oven will be done presently, or describe how you were so sleepy last night that you opened a book and presently fell asleep, before you could read a single page. Presently also means "right now," as when you say that the temperature outside is presently thirty degrees. This is the older of the two meanings — a fourteenth-century sense of "at present" gradually changed to include "sooner or later."

Example Sentences

The number of satellites lying 100 to 1,200 miles beyond the Earth’s surface is expected to increase from about 11,000 presently to roughly 130,000 by 2035, Stein noted.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Sotomayor is writing, Steiker noted, “to institutional actors—judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers—to make clear that the court, or least some portion of it, is keenly aware of problems that it is not presently able to correct.”

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

"Belfast and Derry terminals are well stocked with product being made available across all grades presently," the IPRA's David Blevings said.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

JPMorgan thinks the DFC cannot offer adequate insurance to all the vessels presently hoping to transit the Strait of Hormuz without a change in legislation from Congress.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

But presently she heard sounds of a more concrete nature.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Related Words

• immediately
• soon