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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shortly
The man and his teenage son, who the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office didn’t name, were fishing near the docks behind The Hammocks at Marathon resort in the Middle Keys shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday.
—
Miami Herald, 11 July 2025
Amazon pared down the process in early 2023, shortly before the FTC filed its lawsuit but after the agency sent it civil investigative demands — a form of subpoena — related to the signup and cancellation processes.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2025
The deadly crash happened shortly before 6 p.m., when a southbound 2019 Lexus ES 300h veered directly into the path of a 2000 Ford Excursion heading north on state Route 67 at Brantner Lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025
The tragic sequence of events began shortly before 2 a.m. on Monday, when Garcia was involved in a solo car accident on the southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway, just north of Moraga Drive in the Brentwood and Bel Air area, according to the California Highway Patrol.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shortly
Miami Herald, 11 July 2025
Amazon pared down the process in early 2023, shortly before the FTC filed its lawsuit but after the agency sent it civil investigative demands — a form of subpoena — related to the signup and cancellation processes.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2025
The deadly crash happened shortly before 6 p.m., when a southbound 2019 Lexus ES 300h veered directly into the path of a 2000 Ford Excursion heading north on state Route 67 at Brantner Lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025
The tragic sequence of events began shortly before 2 a.m. on Monday, when Garcia was involved in a solo car accident on the southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway, just north of Moraga Drive in the Brentwood and Bel Air area, according to the California Highway Patrol.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shortly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortly
Adverb
-
Dr Christina Dean, the founder of Redress, an NGO focused on implementing circular fashion, has seen the issue of fashion waste, which is only touched on briefly in The True Cost, come to the foreground as a growing problem in recent years.—
Olivia Pinnock,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
Both markets exploded briefly during the pandemic, with home prices surging way beyond what locals could afford.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
Adverb
-
Reynolds said that his niece has cuts and bruises all over her entire body, but should be released from the hospital soon pending blood work.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 July 2025
-
Iger Era: 2005-2014 Total points: 17 Bob Iger became Disney CEO in 2005 and soon after announced a $1.1 billion plan to fix Disney California Adventure after a dismal start to the second gate across the esplanade from Disneyland.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
7 July 2025
Adverb
-
But that is precisely what large-language models excel at.—
Lutz Finger,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
In Gaza, though, no one knows precisely how many people have died, or what proportion were innocents; the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, maintains that more than half were women and children.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shortly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortly. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share