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timely

[tahym-lee] / ˈtaɪm li /


Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for timely?
Timely is used to describe something that happens at the right time or the scheduled time, as in a timely payment or a timely delivery. In this case, you could substitute timely with prompt or on-time. Timely can also describe something that happens at a time that’s best or most beneficial. In these cases, you can use words like appropriate, fitting, or well-timed. If something is timely in a lucky or coincidental way that leads to good fortune, you could describe it as serendipitous, as in Your card with the extra cash was especially serendipitous—it arrived on the day I ran out of money. Serendipitous indicates a level of good fortune that timely doesn’t necessarily imply.
What’s a synonym for timely manner?
When something is done in a timely manner, you could say that it was done in a timely fashion or that it was done promptly, which emphasizes that it was done quickly or right away. Saying that something was done quickly implies speed but not necessarily that it was done well or that it met the required deadline. Something done in a timely manner could be said to have been done efficiently, which suggests that it was done properly and without wasting time.
How do you use timely in a sentence?
Timely is a pretty common word that’s typically used in the context of when and how things are, should be, or are required to be done or completed. Despite it’s -ly ending, it’s never used as an adverb—It’s always used as an adjective, often in phrases like timely manner and timely fashion. Here are some examples of timely in a sentence:
  • It’s impossible to get to school in a timely manner without coffee—I feel like I’m in slow motion otherwise.
  • Pay your bills in a timely fashion, or you’ll rack up a lot of late fees. 
  • Your email was very timely—it answered the question I was about to ask!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“I rely on their broadcast for accurate, timely, and trusted local news, breaking weather updates, and essential public safety information,” Illes wrote.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 30, 2026

Ten items had not been removed at least 20 days later, showing Telegram had breached Australia's online safety rules by failing to investigate and take "timely action", the court statement said.

From Barron's Jul. 30, 2026

After Silicon Valley Bank failed in March 2023, not long before first-quarter earnings season began, investors were suddenly clamoring for timely information about the stickiness of lenders’ deposits and the market values of their bondholdings.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 26, 2026

"This is a timely study given the history of fire suppression in these forests and the state's increasing pace and scale of fuel thinning in recent years," Jin said.

From Science Daily Jul. 26, 2026

He had talked with them, acquainted them with family gossip, instructed them occasionally when it had seemed timely and proper for him to do so.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

If this had been coded correctly, a "timelier" ambulance response would "likely" have been sent.

From BBC Jul. 10, 2026

Yet A House of Dynamite could scarcely be timelier.

From Slate Mar. 13, 2026

The Education Department’s recent launch of a portal for universities’ foreign-funding disclosures was even timelier than officials likely realized.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 28, 2026

But unfortunately for the Fed, the timelier releases won’t come until after, Reid added.

From Barron's Nov. 24, 2025

The beds i'th' East are soft, and thanks to you, That cal'd me timelier then my purpose hither: For I haue gained by't Caesar.

From Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare, William

“Payrolls tend to be a better guide to the economy’s true momentum than the timeliest estimates of GDP,” wrote Sam Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics in a note Tuesday.

From Barron's Oct. 21, 2025

The timeliest hit Sunday came from first baseman Carlos Santana, with whom the Mariners are 11-1 since acquiring him from the Royals.

From Seattle Times Jul. 10, 2022

“Phase Six,” about a future pandemic, is his timeliest novel yet.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 19, 2021

But Bolshevism on Trial is the movie that the Jennings Daily Times-Record of Jennings, Louisiana famously proclaimed “the timeliest picture ever screened” on June 3, 1919!

From Slate Feb. 23, 2020

It gave us the best and timeliest help we could have had, and was a great impetus to the movement.

From The Story of a Pioneer by Shaw, Anna Howard




Vocabulary lists containing timely


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