Definition of the word soon

Last Updated:
1 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

Definition of soon 1 : without undue time lapse : before long soon after sunrise. 2 : in a prompt manner : speedily as soon as possible the sooner the better no sooner said than done. 3 : in agreement with one’s choice or preference : willingly I’d just as soon walk as drive.

How long is soon?

Soon is defined as in a short time, in the near future or quickly. An example of soon is arriving in five minutes from now, as in arriving soon.

What does soon mean in a text?

soonadverb. Within a short time; quickly.

What is soon enough?

Definition of soon enough
: no later than needed : soon We’ll find out the answer soon enough.

How soon does Shortly mean?

1 : in or within a short time : soon They should arrive shortly.

How long is the near future?

“In the near future” also means “soon” (usually without knowing exactly when) – but this phrase doesn’t have the same sense of immediacy as “any minute/day now.” “In the near future” usually means a few weeks/months in the future.

Is soon a preposition?

As detailed above, ‘soon’ can be an adjective or an adverb.

What is soon after?

If something happened soon after a particular time or event, it happened a short time after it.

What does soon enough mean from a guy?

You’ll see soon enough!: You’ll understand soon! All will become clear in little time! You’ll be able to comprehend in the near future!

Can Come Too Soon meaning?

Something that can’t come too soon means that you wish that it would come as soon as possible. I think the term used more often is can’t come soon enough, or couldn’t come sooner.

What’s the difference between shortly and soon?

Soon and shortly are almost synonymous; soon is slightly less specific and shortly implies the immediate future: I hope to get my driver’s license soon. We will be arriving shortly.

How long is short time?

1 year
In finance or financial operations of borrowing and investing, what is considered long-term is usually above 3 years, with medium-term usually between 1 and 3 years and short-term usually under 1 year. It is also used in some countries to indicate a fixed term investment such as a term deposit.

What do you mean by momentarily?

Definition of momentarily
1 : for a moment. 2 archaic : instantly. 3 : at any moment : in a moment.

Is going to happen soon meaning?

If something is going to happen soon, it will happen after a short time. If something happened soon after a particular time or event, it happened a short time after it. You’ll be hearing from us very soon.

How do you say something will happen soon?

impending, prospective, imminent, looming.

How do you say very soon?

very soon

1. at once.
2. in a trice.
3. in a wink.
4. in an instance.
5. momentarily.
6. momently.
7. right away.

Where can I use soon?

“The guests are arriving soon.” “The show will begin soon.” “It was soon discovered that she was the cause of the accident.” “The product promises that wrinkles will soon disappear.”

What type of grammar is soon?

adverb
adverb, soon·er, soon·est. within a short period after this or that time, event, etc.: We shall know soon after he calls.

Where do you put soon?

Then for a time adverb like “soon”, we expect it will go immediately before the V’ that it modifies, immediately after that V’, or if it is raised to become an S modifier, it will come immediately before or immediately after the S that it modifies.

Definition of as soon as
: immediately at or shortly after the time that call as soon as you get there.

What does not soon after mean?

I think it means “not long after“. I think the writers/speakers have mixed up two different expressions: “soon after” and “not long after”.

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English sone, from Old English sōna (“immediately, at once”), from Proto-West Germanic *sān(ō), from Proto-Germanic *sēna, *sēnô (“immediately, soon, then”), from *sa (demonstrative pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *só (demonstrative pronoun).

Cognate with Scots sone, sune, schone (“soon, quickly, at once”), North Frisian san (“immediately, at once”), dialectal Dutch zaan (“soon, before long”), Middle Low German sân (“right afterwards, soon”), Middle High German sān, son (“soon, then”), Old High German sār (“immediately, soon”). Compare also Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐍃 (suns, “immediately, soon”), from Proto-Germanic *suniz (“soon”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: so͞on, IPA^(key): /suːn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /sun/
• Rhymes: -uːn

Adjective[edit]

soon (comparative sooner, superlative soonest)

1. Short in length of time from the present.

   I need the soonest date you have available.

2. (US, dialect) early
   • 1992, W. H. Andrews: A Paul Green Reader, p 129:

     Late in the evening we arrived at Quincy where we bivouacked for the night and taken a soon start the next morning to march to the arsenal.

   • 1997, Dorothy Stanaland Samuel, Taliaferro Leslie Samuel: The Samuell/Samuel Families of Tidewater Virginia, p 148:

     Got up pretty early, ate a soon breakfast, had the sulky and was about to start to Newtown when it commenced raining..

   • 2000, Laurence G. Avery: A Paul Green Reader, p 220:

     They were different from colored folks who had to be out to get a soon start.

3. Used as an alternative to express ‘to be going to’ in the form ‘to be soon to’

   Hurry up, the wedding is soon to start!

   A new shop is soon to be opened in this street.

Adverb[edit]

soon (comparative sooner, superlative soonest)

1. (obsolete) Immediately, instantly.
2. Within a short time; quickly.

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients:

     I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal’lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […] , down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.

   • 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884:

     Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese […] began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. The poisoning was irreversible, and soon ended in psychosis and death.

3. (now dialectal) Early.
   • 1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, University of Illinois Press, 1978, Chapter 6, p. 87,^[1]

     “Been huntin’ fuh mah mule. Anybody seen ’im?” he asked.

     “Seen ’im soon dis mornin’ over behind de school-house,” Lum said. “’’Bout ten o’clock or so. He musta been out all night tuh be way over dere dat early.”

4. Readily; willingly; used with would, or some other word expressing will.
   • 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian No. 101

     I would as soon see a river winding through woods or in meadows, as when it is tossed up in so many whimsical figures at Versailles.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

• soon at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “soon”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams[edit]

• noos, noso-, onos, oons, sono-

Bavarian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• sogn (Sappada, Sauris)

Etymology[edit]

From Old High German sagēn, from Proto-West Germanic *saggjan, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.

Compare Low German seggen, Dutch zeggen, English say, Danish sige, Swedish säga.

Verb[edit]

soon

1. (Timau) to say

References[edit]

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Estonian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Finnic *sooni, from Proto-Uralic *sëne. Cognates include Finnish suoni, Mansi та̄н (tān) and
Hungarian ín (“sinew”).

Noun[edit]

soon (genitive soone, partitive soont)

1. vein, blood vessel

Declension[edit]

Wolof[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French jaune.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /sɔːn/

Verb[edit]

soon

1. to be yellow

Yola[edit]

Adverb[edit]

soon

1. Alternative form of zoon

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 5:

     Mot w’all aar boust, hi soon was ee-teight.

     But with all their bravado they were soon taught.

References[edit]

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 86