Urgently

How to spell urgently

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce urgently

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does urgently mean?

1. adverbIn a way that requires immediate action or attention.

Urgently in a sentence

• The hospital needed the blood donation urgently.

• She emailed the supplier urgently to chase the missing parts.

Where does urgently come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb traces back to the Latin verb urgere, which literally meant 'to press, push, or drive' someone or something forward. From that verb came the present participle urgens, urgentis, describing something that presses or demands attention without delay. English borrowed the adjective 'urgent' through Old French in the late 1400s, carrying the sense of a matter that pushes for immediate action. The adverb 'urgently' was then formed inside English by adding the native ending -ly to the adjective. The same urgere root also gives us the everyday verb 'urge', so picturing a force that presses you to act at once helps fix both the meaning and the -ent spelling before the -ly.

How the word is built

• urg- (from Latin urgere: to press, drive)
• -ent (adjective ending)
• -ly (adverb ending)