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Momentarily vs Shortly - What's the difference?

momentarily | shortly |

As adverbs the difference between momentarily and shortly

is that momentarily is in a momentary manner; for a moment or instant while shortly is in a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly.

momentarily

English

Adverb

(-)
  • In a momentary manner; for a moment or instant.
  • (US) In a moment or very soon; at any moment.
  • Progressively; moment by moment.
  • Usage notes

    * Many speakers object to the use of momentarily'' in the sense of “''in'' a moment” rather than “''for'' a moment”, since this is inconsistent with the meaning of (momentary);Just a Moment]”, by (William Safire), ''(New York Times),'' May 11, 1997''I Stand Corrected: More on Language,'' by William Safire [http://books.google.com/books?client=iceweasel-a&id=1fuhvj8icSsC&dq=momentarily&q=momentarily
  • search_anchor pp. 137–138, ] nonetheless, this use is quite common in North America, and is particularly associated with airlines, such as “we will be landing momentarily”.On language, by William Safire, 1980, [http://books.google.com/books?client=iceweasel-a&id=mrJZAAAAMAAJ&dq=momentarily&q=momentarily p. 9 In place of ''momentarily , many speakers prefer the terms (presently), (soon) or the phrase “in a moment”, for this sense of “in a moment”.
  • References

    shortly

    English

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.}}
  • In few words; briefly; abruptly; curtly; as, to express ideas more shortly in verse than in prose.
  • In an irritable ("short") manner.