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quick study

quick study

11 3.3
A person who learns new things quickly and easily
  • noun
  • /kwɪk ˈstʌdi/
translation icon : persona que aprende rápido
  • Everyone agrees that Mark is a quick study who grasped the new software in no time.

Examples

  • Despite his limited formal education, Hun Sen is intelligent, a clever political operative, and a quick study.

    Academic text (2002)
  • You are such a quick study!

    Blog text (6)
  • You are some kind of quick study.

  • What a quick study you are.

  • And you are a quick study.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • "You are a quick study."

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "Ah, a quick study," Field approved.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Some of us are just quick studies.

    Blog text (27)
  • I'm a quick study when it comes to something I care about.

  • He is also a quick study, is very trainable, and has a good work ethic.

    Blog text (5)

Synonyms

study
vsquick study
  • Archaic
46 7.3

A person who learns new things quickly

applies to quick learning generally rather than only memorizing lines
sponge
vsquick study
17 7.0

A person who learns new things quickly and easily

focuses on absorbing rather than just quick comprehension
quick on the uptake
vsquick study
1 6.7

Able to understand new ideas very quickly

stresses quick learning broadly rather than perceptive intelligence
grasper
vsquick study
4.6

A person who learns new things quickly

is the same meaning used as a common informal label

Antonyms

slow study
  • Slur
7.2

A person who takes more time to learn new things than others

How Fast

prodigy
43 6.7
quick study
11 3.3
learner
67 1.0
slow study
  • Slur
7.2

Surface Forms

quick study singular
quick studies plural

Morphology

quick + study

The sense 'a person who learns quickly' is clearly related to 'quick' (fast) + 'study' (learning), so a learner who knows both words could plausibly infer the general idea. However, 'study' does not normally denote a person and the phrase requires reinterpreting the noun (and can be confused with 'a study that is quick'), so the relation is only partly predictable and may be ambiguous to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The noun quick study gives a simple picture: think of a short quick lesson or study that teaches a lot, so the person understands right away. That's why a 'quick study' is a person who 'learns fast'.