immediate

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: im=me=di=ate

CIDE DICTIONARY

immediate, a. [F. immédiat. See In- not, and Mediate.].

•  Not separated in respect to place by anything intervening; proximate; close; as, immediate contact.  [1913 Webster]

  "You are the most immediate to our throne."  [1913 Webster]
•  Not deferred by an interval of time; present; instant.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "Death . . . not yet inflicted, as he feared,
  By some immediate stroke."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "The immediate knowledge of the past is therefore impossible."  [1913 Webster]

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.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

immediate, adj.
1 occurring or done at once or without delay (an immediate reply).
2 nearest, next; not separated by others (the immediate vicinity; the immediate future; my immediate neighbour).
3 most pressing or urgent (our immediate concern was to get him to hospital).
4 (of a relation or action) having direct effect; without an intervening medium or agency (the immediate cause of death).
5 (of knowledge) intuitive, gained without reasoning.

Derivative

immediacy n. immediateness n.

Etymology

ME f. F imm{eacute}diat or LL immediatus (as IN-(1), MEDIATE)

THESAURUS

immediate

about to be, abrupt, accessible, actual, adjacent, adjoining, alert, already in sight, approaching, apt, articulated, as is, at hand, attendant, automatic, available, being, bordering, brewing, catenated, ceaseless, close, close at hand, closest, coming, concatenated, connected, connecting, constant, contemporaneous, contemporary, conterminous, contiguous, continual, continued, continuing, continuous, coterminous, current, cursory, cyclical, decisive, direct, end to end, endless, endways, endwise, existent, existing, expeditious, extant, face to face, featureless, festinate, feverish, firsthand, flying, forthcoming, fresh, furious, future, gapless, gathering, going to happen, hair-trigger, hasty, hurried, immanent, imminent, impendent, impending, in danger imminent, in prospect, in reserve, in store, in the cards, in the offing, in the wind, in view, incessant, indwelling, inherent, instant, instantaneous, instinctive, interminable, irreversible, joined, jointless, juxtaposed, juxtapositional, juxtapositive, last-minute, latest, lightning-like, linked, looming, lowering, lurking, menacing, modern, momentaneous, momentary, monotonous, near, near at hand, nearby, nearest, nearing, nearmost, neighbor, neighboring, never-ending, new, next, nigh, nighest, nonstop, on board, on deck, on hand, on the horizon, on the spot, one-way, overhanging, passing, perennial, periodic, preparing, present, present-age, present-day, present-time, pressing, presto, primary, prompt, proximate, punctual, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought, ready, recurrent, reflex, repetitive, round-the-clock, running, seamless, serried, slap-bang, slapdash, smooth, snap, speedy, spontaneous, stable, steady, straight, straightaway, straightforward, straightway, sudden, summary, superficial, swift, that be, that is, that will be, threatening, to come, topical, twenty-four-hour, unbroken, unceasing, undeviating, undifferentiated, unending, unhesitating, unidirectional, uniform, unintermitted, unintermittent, unintermitting, uninterrupted, unrelieved, unremitting, unstopped, unswerving, unthinking, up-to-date, up-to-the-minute, upcoming, urgent, waiting, within call, within reach, within sight

ROGET THESAURUS

immediate

Continuity

N continuity, consecution, consecutiveness, succession, round, suite, progression, series, train chain, catenation, concatenation, scale, gradation, course, ceaselessness, constant flow, unbroken extent, procession, column, retinue, cortege, cavalcade, rank and file, line of battle, array, pedigree, genealogy, lineage, race, ancestry, descent, family, house, line, line of ancestors, strain, rank, file, line, row, range, tier, string, thread, team, suit, colonnade, continuous, continued, consecutive, progressive, gradual, serial, successive, immediate, unbroken, entire, linear, in a line, in a row, uninterrupted, unintermitting, unremitting, unrelenting (perseverence), perennial, evergreen, constant, continuously, seriatim, in a line, in succession, in turn, running, gradually, step by step, gradatim, at a stretch, in file, in column, in single file, in Indian file.

Instantaneity

N instantaneity, instantaneousness, immediacy, suddenness, abruptness, moment, instant, second, minute, twinkling, trice, flash, breath, crack, jiffy, coup, burst, flash of lightning, stroke of time, epoch, time, time of day, time of night, hour, minute, very minute, very time, very hour, present time, right time, true time, exact correct time, instantaneous, momentary, sudden, immediate, instant, abrupt, discontinuous, precipitous, precipitant, precipitate, subitaneous, hasty, quick as thought, quick as lightning, quick as a flash, rapid as electricity, speedy, quick, fast, fleet, swift, lively, blitz, rapid (velocity), instantaneously, in no time, in less than no time, presto, subito, instanter, suddenly, at a stroke, like a shot, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, in the twinkling of an eye, in a trice, in one's tracks, right away, toute a l'heure, at one jump, in the same breath, per saltum, uno saltu, at once, all at once, plump, slap, at one fell swoop, at the same instant, immediately, extempore, on the moment, on the spot, on the spur of the moment, no sooner said than done, just then, slap-dash, touch and go, no sooner said than done.

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.