presently

adverb

pres·​ent·​ly ˈpre-zᵊnt-lē 

1

a

archaic : at once

b

: without undue delay : before long

2

: at the present time : now

Usage of Presently

Both senses 1b and 2 are flourishing in current English, but many commentators have objected to sense 2. Since this sense has been in continuous use since the 15th century, it is not clear why it is objectionable. Perhaps a note in the Oxford English Dictionary (1909) that the sense has been obsolete since the 17th century in literary English is to blame, but the note goes on to observe that the sense is in regular use in most English dialects. The last citation in that dictionary is from a 1901 Leeds newspaper, written in Standard English. Sense 2 is most common in contexts relating to business and politics.

the fastest-rising welfare cost is Medicaid, presently paid by the states and cities

—William Safire

Synonyms

• anon
• before long
• by and by
• directly
• momentarily
• shortly
• soon

Examples of presently in a Sentence

I cannot attend to the matter this instant, but I will presently.

we are presently waiting in line for our turn

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a strong argument that the 32-year-old is presently the best player in the world. —Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024

Paramount presently has three co-CEOs: George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins; the last two are expected to exit. —Byandrew Nusca, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2024

The 49ers are presently perusing practice squads of other teams for additional bodies to play both guard and tackle to fill out the season. —Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2024

O’Connell is presently co-founder and co-CEO of Velvet Hammer Media, and will continue in that role as co-CEO along with Rebecca Quinn. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

presently

adverb

pres·​ent·​ly ˈprez-ᵊnt-lē 

1

archaic : at once

2

: before long : after a while

presently they arrived

3

: at the present time : now

she is presently working