adverb
-
immediately; at once
-
archaic urgently or insistently
Synonym Usage
See immediately.
Etymology
Origin of instantly
Late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at instant, -ly
Explanation
Something happens instantly when there's no pause or delay at all before it occurs. If you fall asleep as soon as your head touches your pillow, you can say you drifted off instantly. If an event is immediate, it happens instantly. Your parents might say they fell in love instantly, the moment they first saw each other, and you may realize instantly on the first day of school that you are going to love your history class. The adverb instantly first meant "persistently," rather than "immediately," though it soon gained this meaning. The Medieval Latin root is instantem, "pressing, urgent," or "standing near."
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.
“I consider myself the CEO of our household,” she says, her famously husky voice instantly recognizable even over the phone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
What the KMI Panel might say: As the VAR does not have the super-zoom - this takes a few minutes to calibrate and is not available instantly - no VAR intervention might be supported.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
The tokenized-securities trading platform, which is targeting a launch in the fourth quarter pending regulatory approval, will use NYSE’s existing technology to match trades and Avalanche to settle them instantly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
"Looking at the spatial distribution of the seeping, it became instantly obvious to me that there was something volcanic behind it, but it had to be demonstrated," concedes Daniel.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
The ease and lightheartedness that was at the table disappears instantly.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
