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immediate - 5 dictionary results

im⋅me⋅di⋅ate

  [i-mee-dee-it]
Use immediate in a Sentence
–adjective
1. occurring or accomplished without delay; instant: an immediate reply.
2. following or preceding without a lapse of time: the immediate future.
3. having no object or space intervening; nearest or next: in the immediate vicinity.
4. of or pertaining to the present time or moment: our immediate plans.
5. without intervening medium or agent; direct: an immediate cause.
6. having a direct bearing: immediate consideration.
7. very close in relationship: my immediate family.
8. Philosophy. directly intuited.
Origin:
1525–35; < ML immediātus. See im- 2 , mediate (adj.)

Related forms:
im⋅me⋅di⋅ate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. instantaneous. 3. close, proximate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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im·me·di·ate   (ĭ-mē'dē-ĭt)   
adj.  
  1. Occurring at once; instant: gave me an immediate response.
    1. Of or near the present time: in the immediate future.
    2. Of or relating to the present time and place; current: "It is probable that, apart from the most immediate, pragmatic, technical revisions, the writer's effort to detach himself from his work is quixotic" (Joyce Carol Oates).
  3. Close at hand; near: in the immediate vicinity. See Synonyms at close.
  4. Next in line or relation: is an immediate successor to the president of the company.
  5. Directly apprehended or perceived: had immediate awareness of the scope of the crisis.
  6. Acting or occurring without the interposition of another agency or object; direct.

[Middle English immediat, from Old French, from Late Latin immediātus : Latin in-, not; see in-1 + Latin mediātus, past participle of mediāre, to be in the middle; see mediate.]
im·me'di·ate·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Immediate

Im*me"di*ate\, a. [F. imm['e]diat. See In- not, and Mediate.]

1. Not separated in respect to place by anything intervening; proximate; close; as, immediate contact.

You are the most immediate to our throne. --Shak.

2. Not deferred by an interval of time; present; instant. "Assemble we immediate council." --Shak.

Death . . . not yet inflicted, as he feared, By some immediate stroke. --Milton.

3. Acting with nothing interposed or between, or without the intervention of another object as a cause, means, or agency; acting, perceived, or produced, directly; as, an immediate cause.

The immediate knowledge of the past is therefore impossible. --Sir. W. Hamilton.

Immediate amputation (Surg.), an amputation performed within the first few hours after an injury, and before the the effects of the shock have passed away.

Syn: Proximate; close; direct; next.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : immediate
Spanish: inmediato,
German: unverzüglich,
Japanese: 即時の
More Translations »

immediate 
1412 (implied in immediately), from O.Fr. immediat, from L.L. immediatus "without anything between," from in- "not" + mediatus, pp. of mediare "to halve," later, "be in the middle," from L. medius "middle."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: im·me·di·ate
Pronunciation: im-'Ed-E-&t, Brit often -'E-jit
Function: adjective
1 a : acting or beingwithout the intervention of another object, cause, or agency : being direct immediate cause of death> b : present to the mind independently of other statesor factors <immediate awareness>
2 : made or done at once —im·me·di·ate·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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