di·rect·ly
də-ˈrek(t)-lē 
dī-
in sense 2 especially də-ˈrek-lē
or ˈdrek-lē
1
a
: in a direct manner
directly relevant
the road runs directly east and west
b
: in immediate physical contact
c
: in the manner of direct variation
2
a
: without delay : immediately
the second game followed directly after the first
b
: in a little while : shortly
we'll be leaving directly
di·rect·ly
də-ˈrek(t)-lē
dī-;
ˈdrek-lē
chiefly British
: immediately after : as soon as
Directly I received it I rang up the shipping company …—
F. W. Crofts
F. W. CroftsExamples of directly in a Sentence
Adverb
He refused to answer the question directly.
She said that she wanted to speak to you directly.
The package will be sent directly to your home.
The two accidents are directly related.
Thousands of people were directly affected by the disaster.
Antonyms are words that are directly opposite in meaning.
We parked directly behind the store.
He sat directly across from me at the dinner table.
Conjunction
I came directly I received your message.
Recent Examples on the Web
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Under the proposal, roughly $10 billion that had been spent each year to subsidize certain imports, will now be given directly to the public.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Sign up for free to receive it directly in your inbox.
—Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2026
While a decline in animal and plant species cannot be directly tied to saltiness alone, native plants and all sorts of water-loving animals are impacted by saltier-than-natural conditions around the world.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for directly
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Adverb
Intel said this allows advanced workloads such as real-time defect inspection, predictive maintenance, and intelligent monitoring to run directly at the edge, cutting reliance on the cloud.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Under the proposal, roughly $10 billion that had been spent each year to subsidize certain imports, will now be given directly to the public.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Sign up for free to receive it directly in your inbox.
—Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2026
While a decline in animal and plant species cannot be directly tied to saltiness alone, native plants and all sorts of water-loving animals are impacted by saltier-than-natural conditions around the world.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for directly
Cite this Entry
“Directly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/directly. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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