Basic Details
Word: Immediate
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Happening at once, without delay; also nearest in time, place or relationship, as in your immediate family.
Synonyms: instant, prompt, urgent
Antonyms: delayed, later, distant
How to Spell Immediate
Syllables: im - me - di - ate
Tricky part: It starts with a double m and the middle is di, not dei or de. Students write imediate or immidiate.
Watch out for: imediate, immidiate, immediete
Memory tip: Im + media + te: with today's media, news is immediate. The word media sits right inside it.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The principal announced that the new rule would apply with immediate effect.
Example 2: Only her immediate family attended the small wedding.
Example 3: We need an immediate answer, as the bus is leaving now.
Fun Fact
Immediate comes from Latin in- (not) and mediatus (in the middle): something immediate has nothing in between.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word immediate as used in the sentence:
The fire brigade took immediate action when the alarm went off in the girls' hostel.
a) instant
b) partial
c) careful
d) delayed
Show answer
a) instant. Immediate action happens at once, which is what instant means; delayed is the opposite.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The doctor said the injured cyclist needed imediate attention, so the crowd quickly made way for the ambulance on the narrow road.
a) ambulance
b) imediate
c) injured
d) cyclist
Show answer
b) imediate. The prefix im joins media, so two m's meet in immediate.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
There was no taemideim reply to my letter, so I wrote to the company again after a week.
a) immediate
b) medicate
c) intimidate
d) mediate
Show answer
a) immediate. Intimidate needs an n, while mediate and medicate are too short; immediate uses all nine letters.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Your immediate family means your ____.
a) cousins in other cities
b) parents, brothers and sisters
c) classmates and teachers
d) neighbours down the lane
Show answer
b) parents, brothers and sisters
2. Which adverb is formed from immediate?
a) immediately
b) immediatly
c) immediatley
d) immediatelly
Show answer
a) immediately
