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alacrity

[uh-lak-ri-tee]
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noun
  1. cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.
  2. liveliness; briskness.
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Origin of alacrity

1500–10; < Latin alacritās, equivalent to alacri(s) lively + -tās- -ty2
Related formsa·lac·ri·tous, adjectiveun·a·lac·ri·tous, adjective

Synonyms

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1. eagerness, keenness; fervor, zeal. 2. sprightliness, agility.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

readinesseagernesswillingnessquicknesssprightlinessexpeditiongaietydispatchzealhilarityfervoravidityenthusiasmspeedcheerfulnessalertnesspromptitudebriskness

Examples from the Web for alacrity

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The captain moved among them, and his orders were obeyed, but not with alacrity.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • But, on his own part, he now saw no reason for a display of alacrity.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • That force had been got together with an alacrity which has seldom been equalled.

  • “All right,” Beauty Smith spoke up with the alacrity of fear.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • "Why, certainly, certainly," the old man chirped with alacrity.

    The Mystery of Murray Davenport

    Robert Neilson Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for alacrity

alacrity

noun
  1. liveliness or briskness
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Derived Formsalacritous, adjective

Word Origin

C15: from Latin alacritās, from alacer lively
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for alacrity

n.

mid-15c., from Latin alacritatem (nominative alacritas) "liveliness, ardor, eagerness," from alacer (genitive alacris) "cheerful, brisk, lively;" of uncertain origin, perhaps cognate with Gothic aljan "zeal," Old English ellen "courage, zeal, strength," Old High German ellian.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper