currently/presently

Question

Hello, everyone,I didn't have any doubts about their usage, but can you see any difference in meaning between: "I am applying for career jobs presently/currently and I hope that something will come up soon."? I am not the author and I guess I'd say "I am currently applying for career jobs..." What do you think?

Wilpeter · Accepted Answer

Currently, to me, means ‘up to date’.
Presently, to me, means ‘at the present time’.

I would use ‘presently applying’.

Gene93 · Answer

I don't know why, but Macmillan dictionary defines "currently" as "at the present time". <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Wilpeter · Answer

Yes, the two meanings are very much the same.  However, I still hold that I would use ‘presently’ for ‘applying’.  Perhaps one of the responders here will do a usage count on the two to determine usage preference.

Gene93 · Answer

Thank you. I sincerely hope that my question will not infuriate you, but doesn't "currently" collocate well with "applying"? There's probably no rule, but still... <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>.

Anonymous · Answer

I don't know the statistics, but I think currently is much more widely used.

Tamguatlay · Answer

May I suggest using "at present" if you are uncomfortable with the other words?

Gene93 · Answer

I am not uncomfortable with them. I am just getting the impression that there may be regional differences and being familiar with those differences is vital.

I don't want to say anything stupid, but I read a few articles on the subject. It turned out that "presently" has the meaning of currently in American English. That's not always the case in BE, though. In BE it also means "soon" and I think they use "currently" to mean at the present time.

Dear native speakers, I apologize in advance if that's not true. I do not want to offend you. All that's simply information I found on the Internet.

Wilpeter · Answer

Gene93 there may be regional differences

I have checked a number of dictionaries and my old 1936 thesaurus in the hope of finding something useful. My English Roget's Thesaurus doesn't contain the word 'currently (only the adjective current); but as you found out yourself, presently in that same old edition gives just the 'soon' meaning. To me, that indicates that the two words may very well be more recent than many of our old reliables. It also indicates that regional differences will be pertinent to your decision. The trouble with seeking advice, is that you have to specify for which distribution market you want to use the words, so that we can pick what works well in that region. Perhaps, as someone suggested, you should avoid both.

currently/presently

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