forthwith — English Dictionary

Adverb

1. Without delay; immediately.

   Usage

   • Formal
   • Literary
   • not-comparable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Neyther euery thynge, whiche ony maner way is bredde or gendred of man: is forthwith a man (for els lyſe ſholde be called men) But that thynge, whiche is conceyued in the matrice or wombe of a woman, of the very ſubſtaunce of man: [...]

   Let ther be Light, ſaid God, and forthwith Light, / Ethereal, firſt of things, quinteſſence pure, / Sprung from the Deep, [...]

   More examples (2)

   Then Proclamation was made, that they that had ought to ſay for their Lord the King againſt the Priſoner at the Bar, ſhould forthwith appear and give in their evidence.

   And no doubt the dry'd Dirt, and Slime of which we were ſpeaking, would have imbib'd ſome Portion of the Humidity, the Day before the Nile overflow'd, had it not been kept ſo cloſe: but being once releas'd from that Cuſtody, it forthwith ruſhes into the Embraces of the deſir'd Moiſture, following the natural Propenſity of dry Bodies to wet.

   So he decreed, in words succinct, / That all who flirted, leered or winked, / (Unless connubially linked), / Should forthwith be beheaded.

   More examples (4)

   The Thunder Child fired no gun, but simply drove full speed towards them. It was probably her not firing that enabled her to get so near the enemy as she did. They did not know what to make of her. One shell, and they would have sent her to the bottom forthwith with the Heat-Ray.

   The task was the harder in that the restored service had not only to start forthwith but also to last for several months pending modifications to the multiple-unit electric stock, and this called for organisation on a semi-permanent basis.

   [Hans] Jonas emphasized years ago that the prospect of genetic control, though cloning and other means, "raises ethical questions of a wholly new kind," for which we are profoundly unprepared. [...] Is it defensible in any sense, for instance, to set out forthwith to create "grade A individuals", "kids made to order," whether designed as privileged deciders of policy or merely dumb drones for the duller humdrum chores of life?

   [W]hen the Board announced in March 1940, that after a certain date in May no Customs staff aged 23 or over would be allowed to join the Armed Forces it made our minds up for us. We were both 23! We forthwith applied for permission to enlist in the RAF.

Adverb

1. without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

   Synonyms

   immediatelyinstantlystraightawaystraight offdirectlynowright awayat oncelike a shot

   Examples

   he answered immediately

   found an answer straightaway

   More examples (2)

   an official accused of dishonesty should be suspended forthwith

   Come here now!