1. at the present time; now: "there are presently 1,128 people on the waiting list"Similarat presentcurrentlyat the/this momentat the present moment/timenownowadaysthese daystodayin this day and ageinformal:at the minute
2. after a short time; soon:"this will be examined in more detail presently"Similarsoonshortlydirectlyquite soonin a short timein a short/little whileat any moment/minute/secondin a moment/minute/secondin less than no time (at all)in next to no timebefore longby and bymomentarilyjust nowinformal:pretty soonany moment nowbefore you know itbefore you can say Jack Robinsonin a jiffyin two shakes of a lamb's tailin a moarchaic, informal:anonliterary:ere long
