presently
Americanadverb
-
in a little while; soon.
They will be here presently.
- Antonyms:
- later
-
at the present time; now.
He is presently out of the country.
-
Archaic. immediately.
adverb
-
in a short while; soon
-
at the moment
-
an archaic word for immediately
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; present 1, -ly
Compare meaning
How does presently compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
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
Its installed capacity in the country will rise to 22 gigawatts by 2031 from 13 gigawatts presently.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
“It’s likely that Berkshire under Greg Abel’s leadership will commit a large portion of today’s outsized cash reserves at materially higher returns than are presently being earned on U.S. Treasuries,” Bloomstran wrote.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
Dr Brandherm said: "Based on the data that we presently have all the house platforms would appear to date to the same period."
From BBC • Jan. 1, 2026
Ged looked down at his burned hand and said presently, “I do not know what I am. I had power, once. I have lost it, I think.”
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
