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

• 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

Abrego Garcia is presently behind bars in Tennessee, awaiting trial for human smuggling charges. —Sarah Bedford, The Washington Examiner, 11 July 2025

More powerful and durable The company was founded on the premise that there is presently a bottleneck in the capability of commercial ground stations to download increasing amounts of data gathered by satellites in orbit. —ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025

The rotation presently features Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman and rookies Will Warren and Cam Schlittler. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 July 2025

Trump tariffs on the European Union presently are 10%, but are poised to go as high a 50% on July 9 unless Trump changes his mind again. —Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 7 July 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