alacrity

[uh-lak-ri-tee]

noun

1. cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness.

   We accepted the invitation with alacrity.

   Synonyms: zeal, fervor, keenness, eagerness

2. liveliness; briskness.

   Synonyms: agility, sprightliness

alacrity

/ əˈlækrɪtɪ /

noun

1. liveliness or briskness

Other Word Forms

• alacritous adjective
• unalacritous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of alacrity¹

First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin alacritāt-, stem of alacritās “enthusiasm, zeal,” equivalent to alacer + -tās- noun suffix ( -ty ² )

Word History and Origins

Origin of alacrity¹

C15: from Latin alacritās, from alacer lively

Example Sentences

The alacrity with which subprime borrowers paid off their loans was yet another strange aspect of this booming market.

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Some have bristled at the alacrity with which Solis has appeared to consolidate support.

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They took to songwriting with alacrity, driven by an urge to create their own material at a time when there was no precedent for a band to write its own songs.

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But the figure vanishes with the same dreamlike alacrity with which he arrives.

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Despite your alacrity in the Colorado case, it is taking you months- months- to parse whether a president can assassinate his rivals with immunity from prosecution.

Read more on Salon