
USAGE NOTE An original meaning of presently was "at the present time; currently." That sense is said to have disappeared from the literary language in the 17th century, but it has survived in popular usage and is widely found nowadays in literate speech and writing. Still, there is a lingering prejudice against this use. The sentence General Walters is ... presently the United States Ambassador to the United Nations was acceptable to only 48 percent of the Usage Panel in the 1999 survey.
Her feet hurt and she was thirsty. Presently she set off to walk back to her lodgings—Hilary Mantel, 1986
(older meaning) According to the spokesperson, the study presently is under peer review—The New Farm, American English 2003 [Old English (up to 1150)C].The context normally makes clear which meaning is intended, but ambiguity can be avoided by using synonyms such as at present, now, or currently in the older meaning and soon, shortly, in a while, imminently, etc. in the other meaning. See also momentarily.
| present tense, present, prescriptive | |
| prestige, prestigious, presumptuous |
Definition: in a short while
Antonyms: eventually, later, never
Presently the wind cups ceased their gentle turning as the cold killed the breeze.
— Richard E. Byrd, Source: Alone, Admiral Byrd's personal record
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Dansk (Danish)
adv. - snart, straks
Nederlands (Dutch)
nu, aanstonds, spoedig
Français (French)
adv. - à présent, en ce moment, peu de temps après, bientôt
Deutsch (German)
adv. - bald, zur Zeit
Ελληνική (Greek)
adv. - σε λίγο, σύντομα, αμέσως, παρευθύς, (λίαν) προσεχώς
Italiano (Italian)
tra poco, ora, subito
Português (Portuguese)
adv. - presentemente, logo
Русский (Russian)
вскоре, в настоящее время, сразу
Español (Spanish)
adv. - luego, dentro de poco, ahora
Svenska (Swedish)
adv. - snart, för närvarande
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
目前, 不久
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adv. - 目前, 不久
日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - まもなく, じきに, やがて, 現在, 目下
العربيه (Arabic)
(ظرف) حاليا
עברית (Hebrew)
adv. - בשעה זו, עתה, בקרוב, מיד
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