presently

presently

in a little while, soon, shortly: The supervisor will be back presently.

Not to be confused with:

currently – at the present time: She is currently working on her thesis.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

pres·ent·ly

 (prĕz′ənt-lē)

adv.

1. In a short time; soon: She will arrive presently.

2. Usage Problem At this time or period; now: He is presently staying with us.

3. Archaic At once; immediately.

Usage Note: The original use of presently to mean "at the present time, currently" goes back to the late 1300s. This usage seems to have disappeared from the written record in the 1600s, but it probably survived in speech, as it is widely found nowadays in both speech and writing. Perhaps because this sense was not treated in dictionaries until relatively recently, some language critics have argued that this usage is an error and that presently should only be used in the sense of "in a short time, soon," as in the shopkeeper's I will be with you presently. In four surveys from 1965 to 1999, only 47-50 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the "currently" usage in sentences like She is presently the secretary of state. By 2011, 63 percent found this sentence acceptable. So, although many still adhere to this guideline, resistance appears to be waning.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

presently

(ˈprɛzəntlɪ)

adv

1. in a short while; soon

2. at the moment

3. an archaic word for immediately

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pres•ent•ly

(ˈprɛz ənt li)

adv.

1. in a little while; soon.

2. at the present time; now.

3. Archaic. immediately.

[1350–1400]

syn: See immediately.

usage: The meaning “now” of presently dates back to the 15th century; it is currently in standard use in all varieties of speech and writing. The sense “soon” arose gradually during the 16th century. Strangely, it is the older sense “now” that usage guides sometimes object to. The two senses are rarely if ever confused. presently meaning “now” is most often used with the present tense (The professor is presently on sabbatical leave) and presently meaning “soon” often with the future tense (The supervisor will be back presently).

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

momentarily, presently - Momentarily means "in a moment"; presently means "soon" or "shortly."

See also related terms for moment.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

presently

1. used to mean 'soon'

If something will happen presently, it will happen quite soon.

He will be here presently.

I shall have more to say presently.

If you are talking about the past, you use presently to say that something happened quite soon after something else.

Presently all was quiet again.

He was shown to a small office. Presently, a young woman in a white coat came in.

Both these uses of presently are slightly old-fashioned.

2. used to mean 'now'

Some people use presently after be to mean 'now'.

...the oil and gas rigs that are presently in operation.

She is presently developing a number of projects.

This use of presently is fairly new in British English, and some speakers find it unacceptable. Instead of 'presently', you can say at present.

He is at present serving a life sentence.

The comet is at present between the constellations of Pegasus and Delphinius.

You can put at present at the beginning or end of a clause. You cannot do this with 'presently' when it means 'now'.

At present there is a world energy shortage.

We're short of staff at present.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	presently - in the near future; "the doctor will soon be here"; "the book will appear shortly"; "she will arrive presently"; "we should have news before long" before long, soon, shortly
	2.	presently - at this time or period; now; "he is presently our ambassador to the United Nations"; "currently they live in Connecticut" currently

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

presently

adverb

1. at present, currently, now, today, these days, nowadays, at the present time, in this day and age, at the minute (Brit. informal) The island is presently uninhabited.

2. soon, shortly, directly, before long, momentarily (U.S. & Canad.), in a moment, in a minute, pretty soon (informal), anon (archaic), by and by, in a short while, in a jiffy (informal), erelong (archaic or poetic) Just take it easy and you'll feel better presently.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

حالا، قَريباًحَالِيّاًفي الوَقت الحاضِر

nyníbrzy

for tideni øjeblikketsnart

baldgegenwärtiggleichzurzeit

προς το παρόν

actualmenteen este momentoahoradentro de pocoen breve

pian

actuellementbientôtprésentementtout à l’heure

sada

eins og stendurrétt strax

attualmentefra pocoadesso

やがて

곧

aldramomenteel

for øyeblikket

obecnie

presentemente

в настоящий момент

čoskoro

zdaj

omedelbart

ขณะนี้

az sonraçok geçmedenşimdişu anda

ngay đây

目前一会儿

presently

[ˈprezntlɪ] ADV

1. (= shortly) → dentro de poco, al rato
you'll feel better presently → enseguida te sentirás mejor
presently, he woke up → poco después se despertó

2. (US) (= now) → en este momento, actualmente
they're presently on tour → actualmente están de gira

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

presently

[ˈprɛz^əntli] adv

(= soon) → bientôt
You'll feel better presently → Tu vas bientôt te sentir mieux.

(= at present) → actuellement
They're presently on tour → Ils sont actuellement en tournée.

(= shortly afterwards) → peu de temps aprèspresent participle n → participe m présentpresent perfect n → passé m composépresent tense n → présent m
the present tense → le présent

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

presently

adv

(= soon) → bald; (= shortly afterwards) → bald, bald darauf

(= at present) → zurzeit, derzeit, gegenwärtig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

presently

[ˈprɛzntlɪ] adv (shortly) → tra poco, a momenti (esp Am) (now) → adesso, ora

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

present¹

(ˈpreznt) adjective

1. being here, or at the place, occasion etc mentioned. My father was present on that occasion; Who else was present at the wedding?; Now that the whole class is present, we can begin the lesson. teenwoordig حاضِر، مَوجود присъстващ presente přítomný anwesend være tilstede παρώνpresente kohal(olev) حاضر läsnä présentנוכח उपस्थित biti prisutan, pokazati jelen(levő) hadir viðstaddur presente いる 참석해 있는 esantis, dalyvaujantis klātesošs hadir aanwezigtil stedeobecny حاضر presente pre­zent присутствующий prítomný navzoč prisutan närvarande ปรากฏตัว hazır, mevcut 出席的，在場的 присутній موجود، حاضر có mặt 出席的，在座的

2. existing now. the present moment; the present prime minister. huidige الحالي настоящ presente nynější, současný gegenwärtig nuværende τωρινός, νυν presente praegune کنونی nykyinen actuelנוכחי वर्तमान, मौजूदा sadašnji jelenlegi sekarang núverandi presente, attuale 現在の 현재의 dabartinis, esamas pašreizējs; tagadējs sekarang tegenwoordignåværendeobecny اوس، اوسنى presente actual настоящий; нынешний terajší, súčasný sedanji sadašnji nuvarande, innevarande, pågående ปัจจุบัน şu andaki, şimdiki 現存的，目前的 теперішній; існуючий حاليہ hiện tại 现存的，目前的

3. (of the tense of a verb) indicating action now. In the sentence `She wants a chocolate', the verb is in the present tense. teenwoordige tyd صيغَة الزَّمن الحاضِر сегашен presente přítomný das Präsens præsens; nutid ενεστώτας, ενεστωτικός presente oleviku(aeg) حال preesens présent הוֹוֶה वर्तमानकालिक sadašnjost, sadašnje vrijeme jelen (idő) bentuk sekarang nútíðar- presente 現在時制の 현재 시제의 esamasis tagadnes- kini tegenwoordignåtids-, presens-teraźniejszy حال presente prezent настоящий prítomný sedanjik sadašnji presens ที่เกิดขึ้นในปัจจุบัน şimdiki 現在的 теперішній مضارع thời hiện tại 现在的

ˈpresently adverb

1. soon. He will be here presently. binnekort حالا، قَريباً скоро dentro em breve brzy gleich snart; om et øjeblik σύντομα, σε λίγο en breve, dentro de poco varsti به زودی pian bientôt תֵיכֶף शीघ्र ही, अभी uskoro, za kratko vrijeme mindjárt segera rétt strax subito, fra poco すぐに 곧 greitai, netrukus drīz; tūlīt [] sekejap lagi weldraom litt, etter hvertwkrótce ډير ژر dentro em breve imediat вскоре čoskoro kmalu uskoro snart, inom kort เร็ว ๆ นี้ çok geçmeden, az sonra 一會兒 незабаром, за хвилину جلد ہي nhanh thôi 一会儿

2. (especially American) at the present time. The manager is presently on holiday. tans, op die oomblik في الوَقت الحاضِر сега presentemente nyní gegenwärtig i øjeblikket αυτόν τον καιρό en este momento, ahora, actualmente praegu اکنون parhaillaan en ce moment כָּרֶגָע मौजूदा, इस समय sada, trenutačno most sekarang eins og stendur ora 目下 현재 šiuo metu patlaban; šobrīd sekarang ni thansfor tida, akkurat nåobecnie اوس presentemente (chiar) acum сейчас teraz trenutno trenutno för närvarande ในขณะนี้ şimdi 目前(正在) тепер, зараз في الحال ở hiện tại 目前（正在）

the present

the time now. Forget the past – think more of the present and the future! die hede الحاضِر настояще o presente přítomnost die Gegenwart nutiden το παρόν el presente olevik زمان حال nykyhetki présent הַהוֹוֶה वर्तमान भविष्य sadašnjost a jelen waktu sekarang nútíðin, núið presente 現在 현재 dabartis šodiena, tagadne masa sekarang het heden nåtidateraźniejszość د حال زمانه o presente pre­zent настоящее prítomnosť sedanjost sadašnjost nuet ในขณะนี้ şimdiki an, bugün 現在 теперішній час اس وقت thời bây giờ 现在

at present

at the present time. He's away from home at present. op die oomblik الآن، في الوَقت الحاضِر в момента no momento v této chvíli gegenwärtig for øjeblikket τώρα, αυτή τη στιγμή actualmente; en este momento praegu اکنون tällä hetkellä actuellement כָּרֶגָע वर्तमान में trenutno jelenleg sekarang í bili, sem stendur, núna al momento 目下 현재 šiuo metu tagad, šobrīd sekarang op dit ogenblik akkurat nå, i øyeblikketobecnie اوس de momento în momentul de faţă сейчас v tejto chvíli sedaj trenutno för närvarande ในช่วงเวลานี้ şu anda, şimdi 暫且 в даний час في الحال lúc này 暂且

for the present

as far as the present time is concerned. You've done enough work for the present. op die oomblik في هذا الوَقْت، الآن засега por enquanto pro tuto chvíli vorläufig for nu προς το παρόνpor ahora, por el momento, hasta ahora praeguseks فعلاً toistaiseksi pour le momentלפי שעה वर्तमान समय में za sada egyelőre sampai sekarang sem stendur, í bili per il momento さし当って 현재 šiuo tarpu pagaidām buat masa ini voorlopigforeløpig, for nå na razie اوس، فعلاً por enquanto deocamdată, pentru moment на сегодня nateraz zaenkrat za sada tills vidare, så länge สำหรับเวลานี้ şimdilik 到目前為止 цього разу جہاں تک اب تک کا معاملہ ہے trong khoảng thời gian hiện tại 到目前为止

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

presently

→ حَالِيّاً nyní for tiden bald προς το παρόν en este momento pian actuellement sada attualmente やがて 곧 momenteel for øyeblikket obecnie presentemente в настоящий момент omedelbart ขณะนี้ şu anda ngay đây 目前

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009