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rapidity

rapidity

6 4.6
Very fast movement, action, or change
  • noun
  • /rəˈpɪdəti/
translation icon : rapidez
  • The rapidity with which she completed her project impressed everyone in the team.
  • with great rapidity
  • with amazing rapidity
  • the rapidity of change

It's a little harder to pick and actually pluck with the same rapidity that you can on a guitar.

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Examples

  • Herman's predictions have been validated with astonishing rapidity and singular effect.

    Academic text (1993)
  • A key obstacle to vaccine development is the extraordinary variability of HIV and the rapidity and extent of HIV mutation.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As well as by the rapidity with which you ate that cake...

  • Extreme rapidity makes it very difficult for a subject to lie.

  • There is less concern about the rapidity of a student's responses to questions than about the content of those responses.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Signs of their growing sense of efficacy included the increasing rapidity with which they took on new challenges.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The more important historical circumstance is the rapidity with which the term became part of the national vocabulary.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Soon Nauvoo grew, with magical rapidity, from a few rude homes to a magnificent city.

    Blog text (6)
  • Atoms always vibrate with such great rapidity that they seem motionless to the physical eye.

    Blog text (14)
  • For Jessica's first four or five years, her all-sensory, interactive cognitive skills blossomed with amazing rapidity.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

rate
vsrapidity
2.1

The speed or amount at which something happens over time

describes the inherent quality of moving or acting very quickly
speed
vsrapidity
1.0

How fast someone or something moves

expresses the general quality of moving very quickly rather than measurement
pace
vsrapidity
409 2.0

How fast someone or something moves

describes an immediate strong sense of moving very fast
quickness
vsrapidity
11 2.8

Ability to move the body very fast and with good control

emphasizes pure speed rather than agility or skill
fast pace
vsrapidity
10 2.5

A speed that is quicker than usual for a task or activity

concerns the pure quality of moving very quickly rather than comparison
rapid pace
vsrapidity
6 2.9

A speed of progress much faster than usual

is the general trait of moving very quickly, not a comparison
swiftness
vsrapidity
5 2.9

Great speed in moving or acting

focuses on the general quality rather than a measured rate
fleetness
vsrapidity
1 6.8

Quick and light movement that makes someone move fast

focuses on speed alone rather than ease of movement
celerity
vsrapidity
  • Formal
1 9.9

Great speed when moving or doing something

expresses the same rapid quality as a general trait
rapidness
vsrapidity
3.6

The speed at which something moves or happens

has identical meaning but differs only in word form
speediness
vsrapidity
2.8

How fast something happens or is done

is the broader quality of moving very quickly

Antonyms

5 1.1

A state when something moves or happens less quickly than usual

How Fast

rapidity
6 4.6
speed
1.0
slowness
5 1.1

Surface Forms

rapidity singular
rapidities plural

Morphology

rapidity = rapid (transparent) = rapid + ity

The noun is a regular nominalization of the adjective 'rapid' with '-ity', meaning the quality or state of being rapid, which is straightforward for learners.

Etymology

The word rapidity comes from rapid, a word that long ago meant a quick, rushing movement and appears in river rapids, where the water moves very fast. So, rapidity means 'great speed' or how quickly something happens.