forthwith

adverb

forth·​with (ˌ)fȯrth-ˈwith 

 also  -ˈwit͟h

: without any delay : immediately sense 1

I heard it give a peculiar thick cry, and forthwith another of these creatures appeared darkly in the deep shadow of the aperture.

—H. G. Wells

The Creeks claimed him as of their own blood, and instinctively felt that he was their only possible ruler. He was forthwith chosen to be their head chief.

—Theodore Roosevelt

… the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on 12th August, at which time an official decision will be taken.

—J. K. Rowling

Synonyms

• bang
• directly
• headlong
• immediately
• incontinently
• instantaneously
• instanter
• instantly
• now
• PDQ
• plumb
• presently
• promptly
• pronto
• right
• right away
• right now
• right off
• straight off
• straightaway
• straightway

Examples of forthwith in a Sentence

The court ordered the company to cease operations forthwith.

if the fire alarm rings, leave the building forthwith

Recent Examples on the Web

Whichever designer first slid that paint job across a boardroom table should be banished forthwith to work on the Sonigenic SHS-series Yamaha Keytar, where there's no chance this dangerously inept individual could make the product look any worse. —New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2024

Accordingly, the Special Master and cartographer are DIRECTED to commence work forthwith on a remedial map. —Mike Cason | [e-mail], al, 5 Sep. 2023

Garland, Weiss, Wolf, and everyone connected to this growing scandal owe the nation answers, forthwith. —The Editors, National Review, 23 June 2023

It is therefore ordered that the Arizona Department of Corrections, Reentry and Rehabilitation release (him) forthwith. —Elena Santa Cruz, USA TODAY, 16 June 2023

DeSantis, a potential presidential candidate who studied history at Yale, characterizes American universities as liberal indoctrination centers ruled by faculty whose political correctness needs to be canceled, forthwith. —Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2023

On September 21st the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, declared that the model of railway privatisation that Britain has followed for the past two and a half decades had stopped working, and would end forthwith. —The Economist, 26 Sep. 2020

Our new-ish national nightmare continues, so forthwith here is the latest edition of the New Normal, a (sorta) lighthearted roundup of news-you-can-use and other tidbits in the time of epidemic. —Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, ExpressNews.com, 23 Mar. 2020

What is already clear is that the Sussexes intend forthwith to redraw the lines of engagement with the press. —Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

forthwith

adverb

forth·​with (ˈ)fōrth-ˈwit͟h 

(ˈ)fȯrth-,

-ˈwith

: immediately sense 2

expect an answer forthwith