Word Study
shortly
CIDE DICTIONARY
shortly, adv. [AS. sceortlice.].
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]"I shall grow jealous of you shortly." [1913 Webster]"The armies came shortly in view of each other." [1913 Webster]
- In few words; briefly; abruptly; curtly; as, to express ideas more shortly in verse than in prose. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
shortly, adv.
1 (often foll. by before, after) before long; soon (will arrive shortly; arrived shortly after him).
2 in a few words; briefly.
3 curtly.
1 (often foll. by before, after) before long; soon (will arrive shortly; arrived shortly after him).
2 in a few words; briefly.
3 curtly.
Etymology
OE scortlice (as SHORT, -LY(2))
THESAURUS
shortly
abruptly, after a while, anon, aphoristically, bearishly, before long, betimes, bluffly, bluntly, boorishly, brashly, briefly, brusquely, by and by, cavalierly, churlishly, compendiously, concisely, crisply, crustily, curtly, directly, economically, ere long, fleetingly, flickeringly, flittingly, for a moment, gruffly, harshly, immediately, in a moment, in a while, in an instant, in brief, in brief compass, in due course, in due time, in short, just, laconically, momentarily, nastily, peremptorily, pithily, pointedly, presently, pronto, quickly, right, rudely, sententiously, sharply, snippily, soon, sparely, succinctly, summarily, swiftly, synoptically, tartly, tersely, testily, transientlyROGET THESAURUS
shortly
Earliness
N earliness, morning, punctuality, promptitude, haste, suddenness, prematurity, precocity, precipitation, anticipation, a stitch in time, early, prime, forward, prompt, summary, premature, precipitate, precocious, prevenient, anticipatory, rath, sudden, unexpected, near, near at hand, immediate, early, soon, anon, betimes, rath, eft, eftsoons, ere long, before long, shortly, beforehand, prematurely, precipitately, too soon, before its time, before one's time, in anticipation, unexpectedly, suddenly, before one can say 'Jack Robinson', at short notice, extempore, on the spur of the moment, on the spur of the occasion, at once, on the spot, on the instant, at sight, offhand, out of hand, a' vue d'oeil, straight, straightway, straightforth, forthwith, incontinently, summarily, immediately, briefly, shortly, quickly, speedily, apace, before the ink is dry, almost immediately, presently at the first opportunity, in no long time, by and by, in a while, directly, no sooner said than done, immediately, if not sooner, tout vient a temps pour qui sait attendre, earliness, morning, punctuality, promptitude, haste, suddenness, prematurity, precocity, precipitation, anticipation, a stitch in time, early, prime, forward, prompt, summary, premature, precipitate, precocious, prevenient, anticipatory, rath, sudden, unexpected, near, near at hand, immediate, early, soon, anon, betimes, rath, eft, eftsoons, ere long, before long, shortly, beforehand, prematurely, precipitately, too soon, before its time, before one's time, in anticipation, unexpectedly, suddenly, before one can say 'Jack Robinson', at short notice, extempore, on the spur of the moment, on the spur of the occasion, at once, on the spot, on the instant, at sight, offhand, out of hand, a' vue d'oeil, straight, straightway, straightforth, forthwith, incontinently, summarily, immediately, briefly, shortly, quickly, speedily, apace, before the ink is dry, almost immediately, presently at the first opportunity, in no long time, by and by, in a while, directly, no sooner said than done, immediately, if not sooner, tout vient a temps pour qui sait attendre.Shortness
N shortness, brevity, littleness, a span, shortening, abbreviation, abbreviature, abridgment, concision, retrenchment, curtailment, decurtation, reduction, epitome, elision, ellipsis, conciseness, abridger, epitomist, epitomizer, short, brief, curt, compendious, compact, stubby, scrimp, shorn, stubbed, stumpy, thickset, pug, chunky, decurtate, retrousse, stocky, squab, squabby, squat, dumpy, little, curtailed of its fair proportions, short by, oblate, concise, summary, shortly, in short.For further exploring for "shortly" in Webster Dictionary Online