Prompt vs. Punctual — What's the Difference?

Being on time; punctual.

Happening or doing something at the agreed or proper time

Carried out or performed without delay

Denoting or relating to an action that takes place at a particular point in time.

To move to act; spur; incite

Acting or arriving exactly at the time appointed; prompt.

To give rise to; inspire

Paid or accomplished at or by the appointed time.

To assist with a reminder; remind.

Precise; exact.

To assist (an actor or reciter) by providing the next words of a forgotten passage; cue.

Confined to or having the nature of a point in space.

The act of prompting or giving a cue.

(Linguistics) Of, related to, or being the verbal aspect that expresses momentary action or action considered as having no temporal duration.

A reminder or cue.

Prompt; on time.

(Computers) A symbol that appears on a monitor to indicate that the computer is ready to receive input.

(of an event) Happening at the appointed time

Something which inspires a response, especially a statement or series of questions designed to provoke creative or critical thought from a student

(of a person) Acting at the appointed time

Quick; acting without delay.

Existing as a point or series of points

On time; punctual.

(linguistics) Expressing momentary action that has no duration

(archaic) Ready; willing to act.

Periodic; occasional.

A reminder or cue.

(dated) Observing trivial points; punctilious.

A time limit given for payment of an account for produce purchased, this limit varying with different goods.

Consisting in a point; limited to a point; unextended.

(computing) A sequence of characters that is displayed to indicate that a computer is ready to receive input.

Observant of nice points; punctilious; precise.

(writing) A suggestion for inspiration given to an author.

Appearing or done at, or adhering exactly to, a regular or an appointed time; precise; prompt; as, a punctual man; a punctual payment.

(transitive) To lead (someone) toward what they should say or do.

Acting or arriving or performed exactly at the time appointed;

To show or tell an actor/person the words they should be saying, or actions they should be doing.

(transitive) To initiate; to cause or lead to.

Ready and quick to act as occasion demands; meeting requirements readily; not slow, dilatory, or hesitating in decision or action; responding on the instant; immediate; as, prompt in obedience or compliance; - said of persons.

Done or rendered quickly, readily, or immediately; given without delay or hesitation; - said of conduct; as, prompt assistance.

Easy; unobstructed.

A limit of time given for payment of an account for produce purchased, this limit varying with different goods. See Prompt-note.

To assist or induce the action of; to move to action; to instigate; to incite.

To suggest; to dictate.

To remind, as an actor or an orator, of words or topics forgotten.

A cue given to a performer (usually the beginning of the next line to be spoken);

(computer science) a symbol that appears on the computer screen to indicate that the computer is ready to receive a command

Give an incentive for action;

Serve as the inciting cause of;

Assist (somebody acting or reciting) by suggesting the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned

According to schedule or without delay;

Characterized by speed and efficiency

Quick in apprehending or reacting;

Performed with little or no delay;