immediate

adjective

im·me·di·ate | \ i-ˈmē-dē-ət

, British often -ˈmē-jit\

Definition of immediate

1a : occurring, acting, or accomplished without loss or interval of time : instant an immediate need

b(1) : near to or related to the present the immediate past

(2) : of or relating to the here and now : current too busy with immediate concerns to worry about the future

2a : existing without intervening space or substance brought into immediate contact

b : being near at hand the immediate neighborhood

3 : being next in line or relation the immediate family

4a : acting or being without the intervention of another object, cause, or agency : direct the immediate cause of death

b : present to the mind independently of other states or factors immediate awareness

c : involving or derived from a single premise an immediate inference

5 : directly touching or concerning a person or thing the child's immediate world is the classroom

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Examples of immediate in a Sentence

This requires your immediate attention. The new restaurant was an immediate success. This crisis calls for immediate action. The response to the crisis was immediate. The wildfire poses no immediate threat to any houses in the area. The danger is not immediate. They have evacuated everyone in the immediate area of the wildfire. Many people suffered in the war's immediate aftermath. The effect of the new policy will be unknown for the immediate future. He was sitting to my immediate right.

Recent Examples on the Web

Eloy City Attorney Stephen Cooper did not immediate return a message seeking comment. — Fox News, "Claim involves death of child after stay in detention center," 30 Aug. 2018 Jennifer’s immediate family won’t be at the All-Star Game, but her two children are in the Bay Area this week and participating in Crawford’s baseball camp in San Ramon. — John Shea, SFChronicle.com, "Brandon Crawford’s All-Star journey: From family tragedy to national spotlight," 12 July 2018 Those missing the unique contours of his cross-cultural explorations should take immediate note of Xiang Gao, a former Simons acolyte at Calvin Klein who has just launched a startlingly good line called Penultimate. — Monica Kim, Vogue, "Penultimate Is a New American Fashion Fantasy, Written By a Chinese Immigrant," 26 Mar. 2019 For all of those reasons, disaster relief, especially in the immediate aftermath of disasters like Cyclone Idai and the floods in the Midwest, can be difficult to do effectively. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "Why disaster relief is so hard," 25 Mar. 2019 That typically means immediate surgery to seal off the aneurysm. — Macaela Mackenzie, Glamour, "Emilia Clarke's Aneurysms Almost Killed Her—Women Need to Know the Risks," 22 Mar. 2019 The ensuing chaos extended to tech companies, with Google abruptly ordering more than 180 employees to return to the US for fear of visa issues in the immediate aftermath. — Russell Brandom, The Verge, "Steve Bannon is pushing anti-immigrant policies at an upcoming tech conference," 31 Oct. 2018 State television showed images of the immediate aftermath. — Nasser Karimi, Fox News, "Iranian news agency: 8 Guard members killed in attack," 22 Sep. 2018 In the immediate aftermath of the bankruptcy, the state sought about $8.4 million from the company for cleanup and fines. — Brian Slodysko, The Courier-Journal, "Cleanup of Pence family's failed gas stations cost Indiana taxpayers $20M," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'immediate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.