timely

Timely is used to describe something that happens at the right time or the scheduled time, as in a timely payment or a timely delivery. In this case, you could substitute timely with prompt or on-time.

Timely can also describe something that happens at a time that’s best or most beneficial. In these cases, you can use words like appropriate, fitting, or well-timed.

If something is timely in a lucky or coincidental way that leads to good fortune, you could describe it as serendipitous, as in Your card with the extra cash was especially serendipitous—it arrived on the day I ran out of money. Serendipitous indicates a level of good fortune that timely doesn’t necessarily imply.

When something is done in a timely manner, you could say that it was done in a timely fashion or that it was done promptly, which emphasizes that it was done quickly or right away. Saying that something was done quickly implies speed but not necessarily that it was done well or that it met the required deadline.

Something done in a timely manner could be said to have been done efficiently, which suggests that it was done properly and without wasting time.

Timely is a pretty common word that’s typically used in the context of when and how things are, should be, or are required to be done or completed. Despite it’s -ly ending, it’s never used as an adverb—It’s always used as an adjective, often in phrases like timely manner and timely fashion.

Here are some examples of timely in a sentence:

• It’s impossible to get to school in a timely manner without coffee—I feel like I’m in slow motion otherwise.
• Pay your bills in a timely fashion, or you’ll rack up a lot of late fees. 
• Your email was very timely—it answered the question I was about to ask!