promptly

adverb

prompt·​ly ˈpräm(p)t-lē 

ˈpräm-plē

1

: in a prompt manner : without delay : very quickly or immediately

I'm going to speak French again, something I learned in school and promptly forgot.

—Deanna Pai

Treatment is promptly resumed until the virus is suppressed again, and then stopped to see if the patient's immune system is able to keep the viral levels in check.

—Joan Stephenson

2

: exactly at a particular time or the correct time

She arrived promptly at 7:00 p.m. as we had agreed.

Synonyms of promptly

• immediately
• instantly
• now

Examples of promptly in a Sentence

shipped the package promptly so that it would arrive on time

Recent Examples on the Web

The only blemish in that span was a seventh-inning walk to Beck, who was promptly caught stealing. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026

William is sent on a spy-adjacent mission by Captain Ezekiel Richardson that takes him through Great Dismal Swamp on the North Carolina–Virginia border, where he promptly gets lost and seriously injured until Ian, who is working as a liaison with the Native tribes, comes upon him. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026

The call was promptly overturned and Baez lined the next pitch into center field for a single. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026

In 2019, when Nagy was the Chicago Bears’ head coach, the team used a third-round pick on Iowa State’s David Montgomery, and Nagy promptly gave Montgomery 714 total carries over the next three seasons. —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1