Adjacent Words

Prompt definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PROMPT, a. [L. promptus, from promo.]
1. Ready and quick to act as occasion demands.
Very discerning and prompt in giving orders.
2. Of a ready disposition; acting with cheerful alacrity; as prompt in obedience or compliance.
Tell him
I'm prompt to lay my crown at's feet.
3. Quick; ready; not dilatory; applied to things; as, he manifested a prompt obedience; he yielded prompt assistance.
When Washington heard the voice of his country in distress, his obedience was prompt.
4. Quick; hasty; indicating boldness or forwardness.
And you perhaps too prompt in your replies.
5. Ready; present; told down; as prompt payment.
6. Easy; unobstructed.
PROMPT, v.t. To incite; to move or excite to action or exertion; to instigate. Insults prompt anger or revenge; love prompts desire; benevolence prompts men to devote their time and services to spread the gospel. Ambition prompted Alexander to wish for more worlds to conquer.
1. To assist a speaker when at a loss, by pronouncing the words forgotten or next in order, as to prompt an actor; or to assist a learner, by suggesting something forgotten or not understood.
2. To dictate; to suggest to the mind.
And whisp'ring angels prompt her golden dreams.
3. To remind. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: according to schedule or without delay; on time; "the train is prompt"
2: ready and willing or quick to act; "she is always prompt to help her friends";
3: performed with little or no delay; "an immediate reply to my letter"; "a prompt reply"; "was quick to respond"; "a straightaway denial" [syn: immediate, prompt, quick, straightaway] n
1: a cue given to a performer (usually the beginning of the next line to be spoken); "the audience could hear his prompting" [syn: prompt, prompting]
2: (computer science) a symbol that appears on the computer screen to indicate that the computer is ready to receive a command [syn: prompt, command prompt] v
1: give an incentive for action; "This moved me to sacrifice my career" [syn: motivate, actuate, propel, move, prompt, incite]
2: serve as the inciting cause of; "She prompted me to call my relatives" [syn: prompt, inspire, instigate]
3: assist (somebody acting or reciting) by suggesting the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned [syn: prompt, remind, cue]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin promptare, from Latin promptus prompt Date: 14th century 1. to move to action ; incite 2. to assist (one acting or reciting) by suggesting or saying the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned ; cue 3. to serve as the inciting cause of <evidence prompting an investigation> • prompter noun II. adjective Date: 1784 of or relating to prompting actors III. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin promptus ready, prompt, from past participle of promere to bring forth, from pro- forth + emere to take — more at redeem Date: 15th century 1. being ready and quick to act as occasion demands 2. performed readily or immediately <prompt assistance> Synonyms: see quick • promptly adverb • promptness noun IV. noun (plural prompts) Date: circa 1531 1. [prompt (I)] something that prompts ; reminder 2. [prompt (III)] a limit of time given for payment of an account for goods purchased; also the contract by which this time is fixed

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., adv., v., & n. --adj. 1 a acting with alacrity; ready. b made, done, etc. readily or at once (a prompt reply). 2 a (of a payment) made forthwith. b (of goods) for immediate delivery and payment. --adv. punctually (at six o'clock prompt). --v.tr. 1 (usu. foll. by to, or to + infin.) incite; urge (prompted them to action). 2 a (also absol.) supply a forgotten word, sentence, etc., to (an actor, reciter, etc.). b assist (a hesitating speaker) with a suggestion. 3 give rise to; inspire (a feeling, thought, action, etc.). --n. 1 a an act of prompting. b a thing said to help the memory of an actor etc. c = PROMPTER 2. d Computing an indication or sign on a VDU screen to show that the system is waiting for input. 2 the time limit for the payment of an account, stated on a prompt note. Phrases and idioms: prompt-book a copy of a play for a prompter's use. prompt-box a box in front of the footlights beneath the stage where the prompter sits. prompt-note a note sent to a customer as a reminder of payment due. prompt side the side of the stage where the prompter sits, usu. to the actor's left. Derivatives: prompting n. promptitude n. promptly adv. promptness n. Etymology: ME f. OF prompt or L promptus past part. of promere prompt- produce (as PRO-(1), emere take)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prompt Prompt, n. (Com.) A limit of time given for payment of an account for produce purchased, this limit varying with different goods. See Prompt-note. To cover any probable difference of price which might arise before the expiration of the prompt, which for this article [tea] is three months. --J. S. Mill.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prompt Prompt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prompted; p. pr. & vb. n. Prompting.] 1. To assist or induce the action of; to move to action; to instigate; to incite. God first . . . prompted on the infirmities of the infant world by temporal prosperity. --Jer. Taylor. 2. To suggest; to dictate. And whispering angles prompt her golden dreams. --Pope. 3. To remind, as an actor or an orator, of words or topics forgotten.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(prompts, prompting, prompted) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. To prompt someone to do something means to make them decide to do it. Japan's recession has prompted consumers to cut back on buying cars... The need for villagers to control their own destinies has prompted a new plan. VERB: V n to-inf, V n 2. If you prompt someone when they stop speaking, you encourage or help them to continue. If you prompt an actor, you tell them what their next line is when they have forgotten what comes next. 'Go on,' the therapist prompted him... How exactly did he prompt her, Mr Markham? VERB: V with quote, V n 3. A prompt action is done without any delay. It is not too late, but prompt action is needed. ADJ: usu ADJ n 4. If you are prompt to do something, you do it without delay or you are not late. You have been so prompt in carrying out all these commissions... ADJ: v-link ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Ready, quick, apt, alert, active. 2. Ready, willing. 3. Quick, ready. 4. Hasty, forward, quick. 5. Inclined, disposed, apt, propense. 6. Early, timely, punctual. II. v. a. 1. Incite, induce, stimulate, impel, incline, dispose, urge, set on, draw on, instigate. 2. Put in mind, give the cue to, assist (a speaker), remind. 3. Dictate, suggest, hint.

Moby Thesaurus

accordant, acquiescent, admonish, adumbrate, affect, affirmative, agile, agog, agreeable, agreeing, aide-memoire, alacritous, alert, alive, all agog, allude to, amenable, animated, anxious, approving, apt, ardent, argue into, arouse, assenting, attentive, avid, awake, awaken, bend, bias, breakneck, breathless, bright, bring, bring about, bring around, bring to recollection, brisk, broad hint, bursting to, cajole, call forth, call up, carry, carry back, cause, caution, charge, clue, coax, color, compliable, compliant, consentient, consenting, content, convince, cooperative, cue, cursory, dashing, decide, decisive, desirous, determine, dispatchful, dispose, disposed, docile, double-quick, draw, drop a hint, eager, eagle-winged, egg on, elicit, encourage, endorsing, engage, enjoin, enlist, enthusiastic, evoke, exhort, expeditious, expostulate, express, fain, fast, favorable, favorably disposed, favorably inclined, festinate, feverish, flapper, fleet, flying, forward, full of life, furious, galloping, game, gentle hint, gesture, get, get to do, give a hint, give rise to, give the cue, glance at, glimmer, glimmering, goad, hair-trigger, hasty, headlong, help, hint, hint at, hold the promptbook, hurried, hustling, immediate, impatient, impel, implication, imply, in the mind, in the mood, incite, incline, inclined, index, indicate, indication, induce, influence, inkling, innuendo, insinuate, insinuation, inspire, instant, instantaneous, interest in, intimate, intimation, issue a caveat, jog the memory, jogger, keen, kick, last-minute, lead, light of heel, light-footed, lively, look, lure, memorandum, mercurial, minded, motivate, move, muster up, nag, nimble, nimble-footed, nod, nothing loath, nudge, occasion, on the, on the alert, on the ball, on the job, on the spot, on time, panting, passing, permissive, persuade, pliant, preach, precipitate, predispose, predisposed, prevail, prevail on, prevail upon, prick, procure, prod, prompt the mind, prompter, prompting, prone, propel, provoke, punctual, put in mind, put in remembrance, qui vive, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought, rapid, raring to, ratifying, ready, ready and willing, recall, receptive, reckless, remember, remembrance, remembrancer, remind, remind one of, reminder, remonstrate, responsive, rouse, running, sanctioning, scent, sharp, sic, sign, signal, slap-bang, slapdash, sleepless, smart, snap, snappy, soften up, spanking, speedy, spirited, spoor, spry, spur, stimulate, stimulus, submissive, suggest, suggestion, summary, summon up, superficial, suspicion, sway, swift, symptom, talk into, telltale, tempt, tickler, timely, tinge, tone, track, tractable, unblinking, ungrudging, unhesitating, unloath, unnodding, unrefusing, unreluctant, unsleeping, unwinking, urge, urgent, vigilant, vital, vivacious, vivid, wakeful, warn, watchful, wear down, weigh with, well-disposed, well-inclined, whisper, wide-awake, willed, willing, willinghearted, win over, winged, wink, work, zealous, zestful