Immediately is the correct spelling, while imediately is a common misspelling. If you’ve come across both “immediately” and “imediately” and wondered which one is correct, the difference comes down to standard English spelling. The word immediately means at once, without delay, or very soon after something happens. It is commonly used in everyday conversations, instructions, emails, academic writing, and professional communication.
The immediately vs imediately distinction is simple: immediately is the correct spelling, while imediately is incorrect because it is missing one of the two m’s in the word. The correct form comes from immediate + -ly, giving us immediately. Related words and expressions include at once, right away, instantly, promptly, straightaway, and without delay, although their exact use can vary depending on the context.
In this guide, you’ll learn whether “immediately” or “imediately” is correct, what immediately means, why “imediately” is misspelled, how to spell the word correctly, and how to use “immediately” in sentences. You’ll also see clear examples and a simple comparison table to make the spelling difference easy to remember.
By the end, you’ll know exactly why immediately is correct and how to use and spell this common English word naturally and accurately.
Immediately vs Imediately: Quick Answer
| Spelling | Correct? | Part of speech | Meaning |
| Immediately | Yes | Adverb | At once, without delay, or directly after something |
| Imediately | No | — | Misspelling of immediately |
The difference is simple: immediately has two m’s, while imediately has only one.
Correct spelling
Immediately
Incorrect spelling
Imediately
Example
- Correct: She immediately called her parents.
- Incorrect: She imediately called her parents.
There is no difference in meaning because imediately is not a separate standard English word. It is simply a misspelling of immediately.
Is Immediately or Imediately Correct?
Immediately is correct. Imediately is incorrect.
The standard spelling contains double m:
i-m-m-e-d-i-a-t-e-l-y
The incorrect version removes one of those letters:
i-m-e-d-i-a-t-e-l-y
That missing m is the entire spelling difference.
The word immediately comes from the adjective immediate with the adverb-forming ending -ly. The adjective immediate already contains the double m, so the related adverb retains it.
This gives you a useful spelling pattern:
immediate → immediately
Not:
imediate → imediately
Cambridge lists immediately as an adverb and gives meanings including “now or without waiting” and being close to something in time or distance.
Immediately is the standard English spelling
You should use immediately in:
- school assignments
- essays
- emails
- business writing
- reports
- applications
- academic work
- professional documents
- websites
- formal correspondence
- everyday messages
The misspelling imediately should be corrected wherever it appears.
Immediately Meaning and Definition
Immediately is an adverb. Its most familiar meaning is at once or without delay.
For example:
The doctor asked him to leave immediately.
Here, immediately tells us when he should leave. The action should happen without waiting.
Cambridge defines the common use of immediately as happening “now or without waiting or thinking.”
Immediately meaning at once
In many sentences, immediately means something similar to:
- at once
- right away
- without delay
- straight away
- promptly
For example:
- The manager responded immediately.
- Please leave the building immediately.
- She recognized the problem immediately.
- He apologized immediately.
- The system restarted immediately.
In each example, the adverb indicates that the action happened with little or no delay.
Immediately meaning very soon after
Immediately can also describe something that happens directly after another event.
For example:
- The lights went out immediately after the announcement.
- She called me immediately after the meeting.
- The temperature dropped immediately following the storm.
- He left immediately after dinner.
In this use, the word does not necessarily mean the action happened at the exact same instant. It emphasizes the short interval between two events.
Cambridge gives examples such as something happening immediately after another event and describes immediately in terms of closeness in time or distance.
Immediately meaning directly or very close
The word can also describe physical or figurative closeness.
Consider:
The pharmacy is immediately beside the hospital.
Here, immediately does not mean “at once.” Instead, it emphasizes close physical position.
Another example is:
The office is immediately above the restaurant.
This means the office is directly above the restaurant.
Cambridge recognizes this use as referring to something close to another person or thing in distance.
Why Is Immediately Spelled With Two Ms?
The easiest way to understand the spelling is to start with the base adjective:
immediate
Then add -ly:
immediate + ly = immediately
The important part is that immediate already contains two m’s:
i m m e d i a t e
When -ly is added, those letters remain:
i m m e d i a t e l y
So the correct spelling is:
immediately
A common mistake is to mentally simplify the middle of the word:
immediate → imediate
That creates the incorrect spelling imediately.
A simple spelling breakdown
Look at the word in parts:
immediate + ly
Or focus on the beginning:
imme + diately
The first part contains the double m:
imme
That makes the spelling easier to remember.
Why people often write “imediately”
The error is understandable because the pronunciation does not make the written double m especially obvious.
When people hear or say the word, they may concentrate on its sounds rather than its letters. During fast typing, this can result in one of the repeated letters being omitted.
Similar spelling errors happen with many English words containing repeated letters. The important point is that pronunciation does not change the standard written form.
Immediate vs Immediately
Immediate and immediately are related, but they perform different grammatical jobs.
Immediately is an adverb.
| Word | Part of speech | Function | Example |
| Immediate | Adjective | Describes a noun | We need an immediate response. |
| Immediately | Adverb | Describes an action or situation | Please respond immediately. |
Immediate as an adjective
An adjective describes a noun.
For example:
The company took immediate action.
Here, immediate describes action.
More examples include:
- an immediate response
- an immediate effect
- an immediate concern
- an immediate reaction
- an immediate decision
- an immediate problem
Cambridge defines immediate as something happening or being done without waiting or very soon after something else. It can also describe something important and requiring attention now.
Immediately as an adverb
An adverb can modify a verb or describe how, when, or under what circumstances an action occurs.
For example:
She immediately responded.
Here, immediately modifies the verb responded.
Compare the two:
She gave an immediate response.
She immediately responded.
The first sentence uses the adjective immediate. The second uses the adverb immediately.
Immediately vs Imediately Examples
The clearest way to understand the difference is to see the correct spelling in real sentences.
Correct examples with immediately
- Please contact me immediately.
- The child immediately understood the instructions.
- She immediately noticed the mistake.
- The teacher asked the students to stop immediately.
- We left immediately after the meeting.
- He immediately recognized the building.
- The company issued a statement immediately.
- She immediately apologized for the error.
- The machine stopped immediately.
- They began investigating the issue immediately.
- I knew immediately that something was wrong.
- The customer received a response immediately.
Incorrect examples with imediately
These sentences contain the common spelling mistake:
- Please contact me imediately.
- She imediately noticed the mistake.
- He left imediately after lunch.
- The company responded imediately.
- I knew imediately what had happened.
The correction is straightforward:
- Please contact me immediately.
- She immediately noticed the mistake.
- He left immediately after lunch.
- The company responded immediately.
- I knew immediately what had happened.
The meaning of the sentence does not require a different word. You simply need the correct spelling.
Common Spelling Mistakes With Immediately
Imediately is the most obvious error in this comparison, but it is not the only form writers may produce.
Here are several incorrect spellings worth recognizing:
| Incorrect form | Correct form |
| imediately | immediately |
| imediatly | immediately |
| immediatly | immediately |
| immedietly | immediately |
| immedately | immediately |
| immediatelly | immediately |
The standard spelling remains:
immediately
Missing the second m
This is the mistake in imediately.
Incorrect:
imediately
Correct:
immediately
The simplest correction is to remember mm in the middle.
Dropping the e
Some writers produce immediatly.
Incorrect:
immediatly
Correct:
immediately
The ending is -ately, not -atly.
Adding an unnecessary extra l
Another error is:
immediatelly
The correct ending is -ly.
Therefore:
immediate + ly = immediately
not:
immediate + lly = immediatelly
How to Remember the Spelling of Immediately
A reliable memory trick is to connect the adverb to its base adjective.
Start with:
immediate
Then add:
-ly
That produces:
immediate + ly = immediately
This is easier than trying to memorize all ten or eleven letters individually.
Use the double-m trick
Remember:
Immediate has two m’s, so immediately keeps two m’s.
Visually:
IMMEDIATE
IMMEDIATELY
The IMME beginning stays intact.
Use the word family
Learning related forms together can make the spelling easier:
- immediate
- immediately
- immediacy
The first two are particularly useful because you can see the connection directly.
If you know how to spell immediate, you already know most of the spelling of immediately.
Immediately in a Sentence
The position of immediately can vary depending on what the writer wants to emphasize.
Immediately at the beginning of a sentence
You can begin a sentence with the adverb:
Immediately, the students left the room.
A comma is commonly used after an introductory adverb such as this when it functions as an introductory element.
Another example:
Immediately, she realized that she had made a mistake.
This placement gives the timing information before the main action.
Immediately in the middle of a sentence
The adverb can appear before the main verb:
She immediately realized her mistake.
This is one of the most natural positions in ordinary English.
More examples:
- He immediately called the police.
- They immediately started working.
- The child immediately understood the lesson.
- We immediately recognized the problem.
Immediately after the verb
Depending on the verb and sentence structure, immediately can also appear later:
She left immediately.
He responded immediately.
This position works especially naturally when the adverb emphasizes how quickly the action happened.
Immediately before a time or sequence phrase
The word frequently appears with after, before, and related expressions:
- immediately after the meeting
- immediately before the ceremony
- immediately following the announcement
- immediately upon arrival
Examples:
Call me immediately after you arrive.
The store closed immediately following the announcement.
She checked her email immediately upon returning home.
Cambridge specifically documents uses involving closeness in time, including constructions such as immediately after and immediately before.
Immediately as a Conjunction
There is another use worth knowing, especially if you read British English.
Cambridge also records immediately as a conjunction meaning as soon as.
For example:
Immediately I heard the news, I called her.
This means:
As soon as I heard the news, I called her.
Another example is:
I’ll let you know immediately I receive the information.
This construction is more characteristic of British English and may sound less natural to some American English speakers.
For everyday American English, as soon as is often the clearer alternative:
I’ll let you know as soon as I receive the information.
The important point for the spelling question remains unchanged: whether immediately is functioning as an adverb or in this conjunction use, its spelling still contains two m’s.
Synonyms for Immediately
Depending on the sentence, several words and phrases can replace immediately.
| Synonym or phrase | Typical meaning | Example |
| At once | Without delay | She left at once. |
| Right away | Very soon, without waiting | Call me right away. |
| Instantly | At once or in an instant | He instantly recognized her. |
| Promptly | Without unnecessary delay | The company promptly responded. |
| Straight away | Immediately | She called straight away. |
| Without delay | Formal way to express urgency | Please respond without delay. |
| As soon as | At the first possible time after something | Call me as soon as you arrive. |
These alternatives are related, but their tone and exact meaning can differ.
Immediately vs instantly
Immediately and instantly can often be interchangeable when they mean “without delay.”
For example:
She immediately recognized him.
She instantly recognized him.
Both sentences indicate very fast recognition.
However, instantly can place stronger emphasis on something occurring in an instant. Cambridge defines instantly as meaning immediately and provides examples involving events occurring at once.
Immediately vs promptly
Promptly often emphasizes that someone acted without unnecessary delay.
For example:
The company responded promptly to the complaint.
Immediately can sound stronger:
The company responded immediately to the complaint.
The second sentence more directly emphasizes that there was little or no delay.
Immediately vs right away
Right away is common in conversational English.
Compare:
Please call me immediately.
Please call me right away.
Both are natural, but immediately can fit more easily into formal or professional writing.
Immediately vs Right Away vs Instantly
These three expressions overlap, but they are not identical in every context.
| Expression | Main idea | Tone | Example |
| Immediately | Without delay | Neutral to formal | Please respond immediately. |
| Right away | Without waiting | Conversational | I’ll do it right away. |
| Instantly | At once, often emphasizing speed | Neutral | She instantly recognized the song. |
A useful rule is to choose the expression that fits the situation.
For formal instructions:
Please submit the document immediately.
For casual conversation:
I’ll call you right away.
For a reaction that happens almost instantaneously:
He instantly knew something was wrong.
The exact choice depends on context rather than grammar alone.
Is Imediately a Word?
Imediately is not the standard spelling of an English word.
When someone writes imediately, they almost certainly intend immediately.
This distinction matters because a spelling checker, teacher, editor, or search engine may treat imediately as an error rather than as an alternative form.
Consider:
The patient must be treated imediately.
The intended word is clear, but the spelling is wrong.
Correct:
The patient must be treated immediately.
There is no separate meaning that you need to learn for imediately. You simply need to replace it with immediately.
Immediately Grammar and Usage
Understanding the grammar of immediately can help prevent mistakes beyond spelling.
Part of speech: adverb
The primary grammatical classification is adverb.
It commonly tells the reader when an action happens.
She answered immediately.
The verb is answered, and immediately describes the timing of that action.
Immediately modifying a verb
This is one of its most common uses:
He immediately left.
She immediately responded.
They immediately started working.
In each sentence, immediately modifies the action.
Immediately with “after”
The construction immediately after is especially common.
We left immediately after the show ended.
This tells the reader that the departure followed the end of the show with very little time between the two events.
Immediately with “before”
The construction immediately before works similarly:
She called me immediately before the interview.
This means the call happened shortly before the interview.
Immediately with “following”
Immediately following is common in formal and professional writing:
The announcement came immediately following the meeting.
It means the announcement came directly after the meeting.
Immediately with “upon”
The phrase immediately upon can express an action that happens as soon as another condition or event occurs:
Please report the problem immediately upon discovery.
The employee notified the manager immediately upon arrival.
This construction is somewhat more formal than simply saying as soon as.
Case Study: Fixing “Imediately” in a Sentence
Suppose a student writes:
I imediately noticed that the answer was incorrect.
There are two things to check.
First, the sentence uses an adverb correctly. The writer needs an adverb because the word describes how quickly the noticing occurred.
Second, the spelling is incorrect.
The correction is:
I immediately noticed that the answer was incorrect.
The grammatical structure does not need to change. Only the spelling does.
This is useful because it shows why imediately should not be replaced with an unrelated word. The writer already chose the correct vocabulary and grammatical form. The problem is simply the missing m.
Case Study: Immediate vs Immediately
Consider these two sentences:
The manager requested an immediate response.
The manager requested that we respond immediately.
The first sentence uses immediate because it modifies the noun response.
The second uses immediately because it modifies the verb respond.
This distinction is a practical way to remember the two forms.
| Sentence | Correct word | Why |
| We need an immediate response. | immediate | Adjective modifies response. |
| Please respond immediately. | immediately | Adverb modifies respond. |
| The effect was immediate. | immediate | Adjective describes effect. |
| The system stopped immediately. | immediately | Adverb describes when it stopped. |
Both words belong to the same family, but they cannot always be swapped.
Facts About Immediately
Here are the key facts to remember:
- Immediately is the standard spelling.
- Imediately is a misspelling.
- Immediately is primarily an adverb.
- It commonly means at once or without delay.
- It can also refer to something very close in time or distance.
- It can occur in expressions such as immediately after and immediately before.
- British English also uses immediately in a conjunction construction meaning as soon as.
- Immediate is the related adjective.
- The spelling contains two m’s.
- The simplest spelling pattern is immediate + ly = immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions About Immediately vs Imediately
Is “imediately” spelled correctly?
No. Imediately is a misspelling. The correct form is immediately, with two m’s.
Why do people spell immediately as “imediately”?
The error usually results from dropping one of the two consecutive m’s during typing or writing. Because the word is relatively long, the repeated letter is easy to overlook.
Does immediately have two Ms?
Yes. The correct spelling is:
immediately
The beginning of the word is:
imme-
not:
ime-
What is the correct spelling of immediately?
The correct spelling is immediately.
A useful way to remember it is:
immediate + ly = immediately
What does immediately mean?
Immediately usually means at once, without delay, or without waiting. It can also describe something that occurs directly before or after another event or something that is very close in distance.
Is immediately an adverb?
Yes. Immediately is primarily an adverb.
For example:
She immediately left the room.
The word describes when the action of leaving happened.
What is the adjective form of immediately?
The related adjective is immediate.
For example:
We need an immediate response.
Here, immediate describes the noun response.
What is another word for immediately?
Depending on context, alternatives include at once, right away, instantly, promptly, straight away, and without delay.
Is “immediately” formal or informal?
Immediately works in both everyday and formal English. It is suitable for casual conversation, professional communication, academic writing, and formal instructions.
Can immediately come at the beginning of a sentence?
Yes.
Immediately, she called her manager.
It can also appear elsewhere:
She immediately called her manager.
She called her manager immediately.
The best position depends on sentence structure and emphasis.
What is the difference between immediate and immediately?
Immediate is an adjective, while immediately is an adverb.
We need an immediate answer.
Please answer immediately.
The first describes a noun. The second describes an action.
Immediately vs Imediately: Final Verdict
The answer is straightforward:
| Word | Verdict |
| Immediately | Correct |
| Imediately | Incorrect |
Use immediately whenever you mean at once, without delay, or directly after something.
The easiest spelling trick is to remember the relationship:
immediate + ly = immediately
The base word immediate has two m’s, and immediately keeps both of them.
So if you are unsure whether to write immediately vs imediately, choose:
Immediately
For example:
Please check your spelling immediately.
That spelling is correct.
