rapidity

noun

ra·​pid·​i·​ty rə-ˈpi-də-tē 

ra-

: the quality or state of being rapid

Synonyms

• celerity
• fastness
• fleetness
• haste
• hurry
• quickness
• rapidness
• speed
• speediness
• swiftness
• velocity

Examples of rapidity in a Sentence

the rapidity with which she can do mental math calculations is amazing

Recent Examples on the Web

The rapidity with which her end nears is approached with big feelings, but also lots of belly laughs through a score packed with wit and wisdom. —David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024

Having to react simultaneously to the rapidity of change in the industry with the frustrations of a slow process. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Oct. 2024

Anger, moving through multiple levels of fiction and documentary with a vertiginous rapidity, turns a story about process into a new cinematic process in itself. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2024

The two live cuts from 1965, on which Bell is accompanied by the bassist Larry Gales and the drummer Ben Riley—both members of Thelonious Monk’s quartet—reflect a darkly moody fervor roiling its surfaces and feature passages of nerve-fraying rapidity. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French rapidité, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin rapiditāt-, rapiditās, from rapidus "flowing violently, rapid entry 1" + -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined above