im‧me‧di‧ate‧ly 1 S2 W1 / ɪmidiətli / 副词
1 without delay 同义词 at once :
Mix in the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
The telephone rang, and he answered it immediately.
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In everyday English, people usually say right away or, in British English, straight away rather than immediately :
Yes, I’ll do it right away .
2 very soon before or after something
immediately after/following something
He retired immediately after the end of the war.
immediately before/preceding something
I can’t remember what happened immediately before the crash.
3 immediately obvious/apparent able to be seen or understood very easily :
The solution to this problem is not immediately obvious.
4 [ + 形容词 / 副词 ] very near to something
immediately behind/above/below/in front of etc something
the seat immediately behind the driver
5 immediately involved/affected/concerned etc very closely involved etc in a particular situation :
Those most immediately involved in the disaster will be given support.
THESAURUS
immediately very soon after something else happens, and without any delay : Sam immediately offered to help.
at once immediately – used especially for emphasis : Remove the pie from the oven and serve at once. | He came home at once when he heard his wife was ill.
right away ( also straightaway British English ) especially spoken immediately, especially because something is urgent. Right away and straight away are less formal than immediately , and are very common in everyday spoken English : If this happens, let us know right away. | I apologized straightaway.
instantly if something happens instantly, it happens immediately after something else, with almost no time between : The boy was killed instantly. | The message is sent instantly from your computer.
right now/this minute spoken if someone orders you to do something right now, they want you to do it immediately, especially because they are annoyed with you : The head teacher wants to see you right now.
without delay immediately, because it is important that you do something as soon as possible : If you lose your passport, you should contact the embassy without delay.