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

The Indian space agency, ISRO, presently has two operational launch pads at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 7 Mar. 2025

Police are presently investigating damage from gunshots at a Tesla center in the Portland metro area. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2025

Miami presently has holes everywhere on the roster. —Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2025

In line with this historical pattern, Canada would probably receive around 50 seats in the House — California presently has 52 and Canada had a population of 37 million in its 2021 census, putting it just behind California at the time of the last United States reapportionment. —Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for presently

• pleasantly
• unpleasantly

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