✅ Immediately is the best word to use when you mean at once, or with no delay (I’ll do that immediately).

✅ Directly is the best word to use when you mean very soon (I’ll be there directly).

✅ Immediately suggests that there’s no significant passing of time (When the thunderstorm hit, they changed their beach plans immediately). Sometimes it can be used in a slightly metaphorical sense, to suggest a very slight, or smaller than expected, passage of time.

✅ Directly is a slightly old-fashioned word, and generally suggests that something happens or is done as soon as the present thing is over (I followed him directly).

We know you’ll immediately take a look at these synonyms for directly.

✅ Importance refers to what is particularly notable, valuable, or influential (The movie was of great importance to the development of cinema).

✅ Significance refers to what is notable and valuable, but that isn’t immediately recognized (His testimony was of enormous significance to the case).

✅ Importance and significance can be used interchangeably. They both suggest that the thing referred to is particularly special or noteworthy (She was of huge importance to the success of the business).

✅ Significance particularly implies looking back and understanding the importance of something with the benefit of hindsight (The event had significance for the future of politics).

We know you’ll appreciate the importance of these synonyms for significance.

✅ Component refers to a part, usually one of many different parts, that make up something (I made sure I had all the components to build my bike’s new drivetrain).

✅ Constituent refers to an important and necessary element of something (The mechanic described the functions of the engine’s major constituents).

✅ Component suggests one part of many, all of which are important. Constituent refers to an important and necessary part of the whole (There are many components of a good argument; Flour, fat, and eggs are the essential constituents of a cake).

✅ Component and constituent can both refer to a physical part or a non-physical part (Generosity was a component of his character; the constituents of a molecule).

Try writing about your own fundamental constituents with the help of our tool Grammar Coach.