immediate

[ ih-mee-dee-it ]
See synonyms for: immediateimmediately on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. occurring or accomplished without delay; instant: an immediate reply.

  2. following or preceding without a lapse of time: the immediate future.

  1. having no object or space intervening; nearest or next: in the immediate vicinity.

  2. of or relating to the present time or moment: our immediate plans.

  3. without intervening medium or agent; direct: an immediate cause.

  4. having a direct bearing: immediate consideration.

  5. being family members who are very closely related to oneself, usually including one’s parents, siblings, spouse, and children: my immediate family;her immediate kin;his immediate relatives.

  6. Philosophy. directly intuited.

Origin of immediate

1
First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin immediātus; see im-2, mediate (adjective)

Other words for immediate

Opposites for immediate

Other words from immediate

  • im·me·di·ate·ness, noun
  • im·me·di·ate·ly, adverb
  • qua·si-im·me·di·ate, adjective
  • un·im·me·di·ate, adjective
  • un·im·me·di·ate·ness, noun

Words Nearby immediate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use immediate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for immediate

immediate

/ (ɪˈmiːdɪət) /


adjective(usually prenominal)
  1. taking place or accomplished without delay: an immediate reaction

  2. closest or most direct in effect or relationship: the immediate cause of his downfall

  1. having no intervening medium; direct in effect: an immediate influence

  2. contiguous in space, time, or relationship: our immediate neighbour

  3. present; current: the immediate problem is food

  4. philosophy of or relating to an object or concept that is directly known or intuited

  5. logic (of an inference) deriving its conclusion from a single premise, esp by conversion or obversion of a categorial statement

Origin of immediate

1
C16: from Medieval Latin immediātus, from Latin im- (not) + mediāre to be in the middle; see mediate

Derived forms of immediate

  • immediacy or immediateness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012