Literary notes about Immediate (AI summary)
The word "immediate" in literature conveys a spectrum of meanings, ranging from urgency and rapidity in time to closeness in space or relation. It is frequently used to denote actions or reactions that occur without delay, such as a command requiring rapid decision-making ([1], [2]) or the prompt cessation of an event ([3]). At the same time, it emphasizes proximity—whether denoting familial bonds ([4]) or physical surroundings ([5])—or serves as a measure of directness in thought or perception, as seen in discussions of instinctive responses ([6], [7]) and unmediated understanding ([8], [9]). Through these varied applications, "immediate" enriches narratives by heightening the sense of urgency, connectedness, and clarity.
- The position called for immediate decision, and I had no wish to take my supper with Neptune.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - The immediate thing to do was to get to the loneliest roads.
— from The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - On reaching the gate, the horses were pulled up with a suddenness that produced an immediate stop, and almost threw them on their haunches.
— from The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving - A visit of condolence should be paid at once to a friend when a death occurs in her immediate family.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - Of his immediate surroundings, his telescope is most intimately his environment.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - The motive determining them must appeal, not to their interests, but to their instincts; immediate hope or immediate terror.
— from Considerations on Representative Government by John Stuart Mill - Margaret's arms came down from behind her head, and her eyes were turned to her friend's face with an immediate awakening of interest.
— from A True Friend: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant - that nature has produced it; and on this alone is based the immediate interest that we take in it.
— from Kant's Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant - What a man is and has in himself,—in a word personality, with all it entails, is the only immediate and direct factor in his happiness and welfare.
— from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: the Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer
