shortly

S1H4O1R1T1L1Y4
US/ˈʃɔɹtli/

adverb

In a short or brief time or manner; quickly.

“"Stop interrupting me, will ya?" she said shortly.”

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

adverbshortly (not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn a short or brief time or manner; quickly.

    […] his two ill-conditioned, canine favorites, which sat shivering before the smoky little fire, barking shortly and sharply now and then, by way of hinting for some slight refreshment.

    1862, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret
  2. not comparableIn or after a short time; soon.

    The past perfect progressive is used for actions and situations which had continued up to a past moment or shortly before it.

    3 more examples

    No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.

    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46

    The few men left alive figured that whatever the Spanish wanted to do to them, it couldn’t be any worse than that, so they surrendered quickly and shortly afterward got their heads cut off by the Spaniards, who at that time were a rather bloodthirsty lot themselves.

    2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, pages 48–49

    Kaplan-Miller said she first joined the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, an interfaith organization that was founded by a Muslim and a Jewish woman in suburban New Jersey, shortly after the 2016 election.

    2023 November 22, Brammhi Balarajan, “US interfaith communities draw on decades-long bonds to navigate Israel-Hamas War”, in CNN
  3. not comparableIn few words.

    Ideas are generally expressed more shortly in verse than in prose

    1 more example

    We shall not describe this tragical scene too fully; but we thought ourselves obliged, by that historic integrity which we profess, shortly to hint a matter which we would otherwise have been glad to have spared.

    1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC

    Synonyms: briefly, concisely

  4. not comparableIn an irritable ("short") manner.

    "Stop interrupting me, will ya?" she said shortly.

    1 more example

    'Well, I still think it was a rather off-hand way for you—for anyone—to behave,' he said shortly. Suddenly Melody felt trapped—and annoyed. And she didn't like being spoken to like a child, either.

    2009, Susanne James, The Millionaire's Chosen Bride, page 147

    Synonyms: abruptly, curtly

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn few words.

adverbIn an irritable ("short") manner.

More synonyms by meaning

adverbfor a short time

Similar

adverbin the near future

adverbin a curt, abrupt and discourteous manner

adverbin a concise manner; in a few words

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishsċortlīċe“shortly; before long; soon”
  2. Middle Englishschortly
  3. Englishshortly

From Middle English schortly, schortliche, from Old English sċortlīċe (“shortly; before long; soon”), equivalent to short + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian кратко, сбито
  • кратко (kratko)in a short or brief time or manner
  • сбито (sbito)in a short or brief time or manner
  • скоро (skoro)in or after a short time
  • накратко (nakratko)in few words; briefly
Catalan aviat, en breu
  • aviatin a short or brief time or manner
  • en breuin a short or brief time or manner
  • breumentin few words; briefly
  • bruscamentin an irritable manner
Czech zanedlouho
  • zanedlouhoin a short or brief time or manner
Esperanto baldaŭ
  • baldaŭin or after a short time
Finnish pikaisesti, nopeasti
  • pikaisestiin a short or brief time or manner
  • nopeastiin a short or brief time or manner
  • pianin or after a short time
  • kohtain or after a short time
  • lyhyestiin few words; briefly
  • töykeästiin an irritable manner
French rapidement, brièvement
  • rapidementin a short or brief time or manner
  • brièvementin few words; briefly
German bald
  • baldin or after a short time
Italian subito, tra poco
  • subitoin a short or brief time or manner
  • tra pocoin or after a short time
  • in brevein few words; briefly
Korean 금방
  • 금방 (geumbang)in a short or brief time or manner
Latin brevī
  • brevīin or after a short time
Māori ākuara, potopoto
  • ākuarain a short or brief time or manner
  • potopotoin a short or brief time or manner
  • ā kō kō ake neiin a short or brief time or manner
Polish wkrótce
  • wkrótcein a short or brief time or manner
Portuguese rapidamente, brevemente
  • rapidamentein a short or brief time or manner
  • brevementein or after a short time
  • em brevein or after a short time
  • brevementein few words; briefly
  • concisamentein few words; briefly
Russian кра́тко, недо́лго
  • кра́тко (krátko)in a short or brief time or manner
  • недо́лго (nedólgo)in a short or brief time or manner
  • ско́ро (skóro)in or after a short time
  • вско́ре (vskóre)in or after a short time
  • ко́ротко (kórotko)in few words; briefly
  • кра́тко (krátko)in few words; briefly
  • вкра́тце (vkrátce)in few words; briefly
  • сжа́то (sžáto)in few words; briefly
  • отры́висто (otrývisto)in an irritable manner
  • ре́зко (rézko)in an irritable manner
Scottish Gaelic gu grad
  • gu gradin a short or brief time or manner
Spanish pronto, en breve
  • prontoin a short or brief time or manner
  • en brevein a short or brief time or manner
Swedish inom kort, snart
  • inom kortin or after a short time
  • snartin or after a short time
  • kortin few words; briefly
  • fåordigtin few words; briefly
Welsh gyda hyn
  • gyda hynin or after a short time
Cite this entry
APA

shortly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortly

MLA

“shortly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shortly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortly.

Source: shortly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.