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

Talankin, realizing that history was unfolding before his eyes, promptly withdrew his resignation. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026

Released in 2023, Red, White & Royal Blue follows Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez), who upon his mother’s (Uma Thurman) election as President, is promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026

Remove snow promptly with a shovel or pay a service to do it for you. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2026

The state promptly and wrongly ordered 42,000 of them invalidated. —Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1