Alternative forms

• enstantly (rare)
• instantlie, instauntly (both obsolete)

Etymology

From instant +‎ -lyCategory:English terms suffixed with -ly (adverbial)#INSTANTLY.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɪnstəntli/Category:English 3-syllable words#INSTANTLYCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#INSTANTLY

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#INSTANTLY

Adverb

instantly (not comparable)Category:English lemmas#INSTANTLYCategory:English adverbs#INSTANTLYCategory:English uncomparable adverbs#INSTANTLYCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#INSTANTLYCategory:Pages with entries#INSTANTLYCategory:Pages with 1 entry#INSTANTLY

1. At once; without delay. [from 16th c.]

   When the neighbours' dog barked, ours instantly replied with a howl.Category:English terms with usage examples#INSTANTLY

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

   • 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in The Telegraph‎, archived from the original on 5 December 2012:

     The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

   • 2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43:

     But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

   • 2023 February 10, Rob Smyth, “Pep Guardiola comes out swinging haymakers in all directions”, in The Guardian‎, archived from the original on 20 March 2023:

     Guardiola swung haymakers in all directions; he presented one of the world’s richest clubs as a noble, put-upon underdog; and he established a siege mentality with such coruscating precision that Football Daily instantly bet the farm on City winning the Premier League this season.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

3. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#INSTANTLY) Urgently; with insistence. [from 15th c.]
   • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     Sir, my lord would instantly speak with you.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 27, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Theoxena although she were instantly urged thereunto, could never be induced to marry againe.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

4. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#INSTANTLY) At the same time.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     As if he mastred there a double spirit
     Of teaching, and of learning instantly

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSTANTLY

Conjunction

instantlyCategory:English lemmas#INSTANTLYCategory:English conjunctions#INSTANTLYCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#INSTANTLYCategory:Pages with entries#INSTANTLYCategory:Pages with 1 entry#INSTANTLY

1. As soon as, directly.

   I phoned instantly I heard you were back.Category:English terms with usage examples#INSTANTLY