1
as in briefly
in a few words
the sudden closing of the restaurant was announced only with a shortly worded sign: "Out of Business"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in soon
at or within a short time
the meeting will begin shortly, so don't go too far away to find a bathroom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shortly
Tillis went to the Senate floor shortly afterward and passed a resolution, with no objections, to place the plaque on the Senate side.
—
ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s biggest choke point for oil and gas flows—essentially shut down because of the violence, prices could surge much higher if oil flows haven’t resumed by the end of the week or shortly thereafter, energy analysts said.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
As a result, the upper stage ran out of propellant shortly before reaching its target deployment orbit, and the payload was lost.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 1 Mar. 2026
We will be joined shortly by Republican Mike Turner, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee.
—CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shortly
ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s biggest choke point for oil and gas flows—essentially shut down because of the violence, prices could surge much higher if oil flows haven’t resumed by the end of the week or shortly thereafter, energy analysts said.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
As a result, the upper stage ran out of propellant shortly before reaching its target deployment orbit, and the payload was lost.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 1 Mar. 2026
We will be joined shortly by Republican Mike Turner, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee.
—CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shortly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortly
Adverb
-
Aggies have fought back, briefly taking their first lead since under three minutes left in the game.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Amongst them is actress Annette Bening, who appears very briefly as a character in the show.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
7 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The deeper the water, the sooner a vehicle loses traction on the road.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The deeper the water, the sooner a vehicle loses traction on the road.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
7 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Few other comedians do this so consistently or concisely.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Well, first of all, that was incredibly concisely summarized.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
26 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
Democrats understand precisely what all of this means politically.—
Jay Caruso,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
That’s precisely why the state should stay the course, Roedner Sutter said.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shortly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortly. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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