at one time
1‘she was a nurse at one time’
SYNONYMS
formerly, previously, once, in the past, at one point, at some point, once upon a time, time was when, in days gone by, in times gone by, in times past, in the old days, in the good old days, back in the day, long ago
literary in days of yore, in times of yore, of yore
archaic sometime, erst, erstwhile, whilom
2‘several matches were going on at one time’
SYNONYMS
simultaneously, at once, at the same time, at one and the same time, at the same instant, at the same moment, concurrently, concomitantly
together, all together, alongside each other, in unison, in concert, in chorus, as a group
rare synchronously
ANTONYMS
separately, consecutively
at the same time
1‘they arrived at the same time’
SYNONYMS
simultaneously, at the same instant, at the same moment, together, all together, as a group, at once, at one and the same time, at one time, concurrently, concomitantly, alongside each other, in unison, in concert, in chorus
rare synchronously
ANTONYMS
separately, consecutively
2‘I can't really explain it, but at the same time I'm not convinced’
SYNONYMS
nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, however, but, still, yet, though, be that as it may, for all that, in spite of everything, in spite of that, despite everything, despite that, after everything, having said that, just the same, all the same, in any event, come what may, at any rate, notwithstanding, regardless, anyway, anyhow
informal still and all
archaic howbeit, withal, natheless
ahead of time
‘the bridge was declared ready seven months ahead of time’
SYNONYMS
early, earlier than expected, earlier than required, in good time, with time to spare, timely, in advance, sooner, in readiness, already
from time to time
‘all children act up from time to time’
SYNONYMS
sometimes, occasionally, now and again, now and then, every now and again, every now and then, every so often, once in a while, every once in a while, on occasion, on occasions, on the odd occasion, off and on, at times, at intervals, periodically, sporadically, spasmodically, erratically, irregularly, intermittently, by fits and starts, in fits and starts, fitfully, discontinuously, piecemeal
rare interruptedly
time after time
‘the camera produces excellent results time after time’
SYNONYMS
repeatedly, again and again, over and over, over and over again, time and again, time and time again, frequently, often, many times, many a time, on many occasions, many times over
day in, day out, day after day, week in, week out, night and day, all the time
persistently, recurrently, constantly, continually, regularly
North American oftentimes
ad nauseam
literary many a time and oft, oft, oft-times
behind the times
‘the children considered Dad to be behind the times’
SYNONYMS
old-fashioned, outmoded, out of fashion, out of date, unfashionable, frumpish, frumpy, out of style, outdated, dated, out, outworn, old, former, dead, musty, old-time, old-world, behindhand, past, bygone, archaic, obsolescent, obsolete, ancient, antiquated, superannuated
defunct, medieval, prehistoric, antediluvian, old-fogeyish, old-fangled, conservative, backward-looking, quaint, anachronistic, crusted, feudal, fusty, moth-eaten, olde worlde
démodé, vieux jeu, passé
informal old hat, square, not with it, out of the ark, creaky, clunky, mouldy
Northern English informal antwacky
North American informal horse-and-buggy, rinky-dink, mossy
archaic square-toed
ANTONYMS
up to date, ahead of one's time
on time
‘the train was on time’
SYNONYMS
punctual, punctually, prompt, promptly, in time, in good time, on schedule, to schedule, when expected, timely, well timed
informal on the dot
British informal bang on time, spot on time
many a time
‘many a time they had gone to bed hungry’
SYNONYMS
frequently, often, repeatedly, again and again, over and over, over and over again, time and again, time and time again, time after time, many times, on many occasions, many times over
day in, day out, day after day, week in, week out, night and day, all the time
persistently, recurrently, constantly, continually, regularly
North American oftentimes
ad nauseam
literary many a time and oft, oft, oft-times
in no time
‘you'll have perfect-looking skin in no time’
SYNONYMS
soon, very soon, in a second, in a minute, in a moment, in a trice, in a flash, shortly, any second, any minute, any minute now, in a short time, in an instant, in less than no time, in no time at all, in next to no time, before you know it, before long
quickly, very quickly, rapidly, swiftly, at the speed of light
suddenly, immediately, instantly, instantaneously, promptly, without delay, post-haste
North American momentarily
informal in a jiffy, in a sec, in a nanosecond, in two shakes, in two shakes of a lamb's tail, before you can say Jack Robinson, before you can say knife, in the twinkling of an eye, in a twinkling, in the blink of an eye, in a blink, in the wink of an eye, in a wink
British informal in a tick, in two ticks, in a mo
North American informal in a snap
behind time
‘she was behind time and had to rush’
SYNONYMS
late, not on time, behind, behind schedule, behind target, behindhand, delayed, running late, overdue, belated, tardy, unpunctual
slow, dilatory
all the time
‘he works all the time’
SYNONYMS
constantly, the entire time, around the clock, day and night, night and day, morning, noon, and night, day in, day out, at all times, always, without a break, ceaselessly, endlessly, incessantly, perpetually, permanently, interminably, unceasingly, continuously, continually, eternally, unremittingly, remorselessly, relentlessly
informal 24, 7
archaic without surcease
at times
‘she is at times cruel and ruthless’
SYNONYMS
sometimes, occasionally, from time to time, now and again, now and then, every now and again, every now and then, every so often, once in a while, every once in a while, on occasion, on occasions, on the odd occasion, off and on, at intervals, periodically, sporadically, spasmodically, erratically, irregularly, intermittently, by fits and starts, in fits and starts, fitfully, discontinuously, piecemeal
rare interruptedly
in time
1‘I came back in time for Molly's party’
SYNONYMS
early enough, in good time, punctually, promptly, on time, not too late, with time to spare, at the appointed time, at the right time, on schedule
2‘the attraction of the uniform palled, and, in time, she left the service’
SYNONYMS
eventually, ultimately, finally, in the end, as time goes by, as time goes on, by and by, one day, some day, sooner or later, in a while, after a bit, in the long run, in the fullness of time, when all is said and done, at a later time, at a later date, at length, at a future date, at a future time, at some point in the future, in the future, in time to come, in due course
in good time
‘we'll be there in good time’
SYNONYMS
punctual, punctually, prompt, promptly, on time
early, with time to spare, ahead of time, before the appointed time, ahead of schedule
for the time being
‘the sale has been cancelled for the time being, at least until prices recover’
SYNONYMS
for now, for the moment, for the present, in the interim, for the nonce, for the meantime, in the meantime, in the meanwhile
for a short time, for a little while, for a short while, briefly, momentarily, fleetingly
temporarily, provisionally, pro tem
informal for the minute
pro tempore, ad interim
en attendant