directly
/dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/ adverb, conjunction
- adverb In a direct manner; in a straight line or course. “He drove directly to the office, and didn't stop off at the petrol station.”
- adverb In a straightforward way; without anything intervening; not by secondary but by direct means. “I'm sick of asking you to fire him; I'll just do it directly.”
- adverb Plainly, without circumlocution or ambiguity; absolutely; in express terms. “I'm going to tell Natalie directly that I love her.”
- adverb Exactly; just; at the shortest possible distance. “It's directly across the street.”
- adverb Straightforwardly; honestly. “He told me directly that he'd cheated on me, and how sorry he was for it.”
- adverb (dated) Immediately.
- adverb (chiefly dated or dialect, including Midlands, Cornwall, Southern US) Soon; next; in due time; as soon as it becomes convenient. “We'll go to the store directly, but first I need to finish sweeping.”
- conjunction (chiefly British) As soon as; immediately (elliptical for directly that/as/when)
Synonyms
straightwise undeviatingly bluntly accurately frankly truthfully forthwith betimes clearly downrightly unambiguously dead precisely slap bang now tout de suite in due course presently shortly straight direct immediately instantly straightaway straight off right away at once like a shot flat
Antonyms
Etymology
From direct + -ly.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “directly”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details