Now crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Now” are HERE, with 4 letters. Below are 13 answers from 4 to 12 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

HERE 4 letters · adverb

at this time; now “we'll adjourn here for lunch and discuss the remaining issues this afternoon”

TODAY 5 letters · adverb

in these times “today almost every home has television”

ESCAPE 6 letters · noun

a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild

EARLIER 7 letters · adverb

before now

DIRECTLY 8 letters · adverb

without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

INSTANTLY 9 letters · adverb

without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

ORIGINALLY 10 letters · adverb

before now

IMMEDIATELY 11 letters · adverb

without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening “he answered immediately”

STRAIGHTAWAY 12 letters · adverb

without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening “found an answer straightaway”

Telling them apart

With 9 squares, INSTANTLY, FORTHWITH, CURRENTLY and PRESENTLY all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: I → INSTANTLY · F → FORTHWITH · C → CURRENTLY · P → PRESENTLY. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “nows” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “now” means

• adverb: in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events (“President Kennedy now calls in the National Guard”)
• adverb: in these times (“it is solely by their language that the upper classes nowadays are distinguished”)
• adverb: used to preface a command or reproof or request (“now hear this!”)
• adverb: at the present moment (“goods now on sale”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as NOW, and words whose definition is NOW. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.