instantly

«instantly» in Mova's school dictionary: at once, in an instant, with no time at all in between — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adverb (instantly)

meaning for a pupil

Instantly means at once, in an instant, with no time at all in between. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons some reactions happen instantly (a light comes on instantly when you close the circuit); in safety lessons, burns should be cooled instantly. In stories a character recognises someone instantly. Phrases: almost instantly, instantly recognisable, died instantly.

examples

• The light came on instantly. tree →
• The ice cream melted almost instantly in the sun. tree →
• I recognised her instantly. tree →
• Light travels so fast it seems to arrive instantly. tree →
• The sugar dissolved instantly in the hot tea. tree →
• He instantly felt better after the drink. tree →
• Instantly the truth flashed upon him. tree →

note

Adverb from «instant» (a very short moment). «Instant» food (instant noodles) is ready very quickly. Close to «immediately»; «instantly» stresses that no time passes at all.

In the corpora

• An open oven door and the inside of the oven are hot enough to burn skin instantly.
• Never touch an electric fence or climb an electricity pylon; electricity can kill instantly.
• In air sound travels about one kilometre every three seconds, while light arrives almost instantly, being about a million times faster.
• It is a myth that a car can stop instantly: even the best brakes need time and distance.
• Sound travels about one kilometre in three seconds through air, while light arrives almost instantly.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «instantly» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.