rapid

[rap-id]

See more synonyms for rapid on Thesaurus.com

adjective, sometimes rap·id·er, rap·id·est.

occurring within a short time; happening speedily: rapid growth.
moving or acting with great speed; swift: a rapid worker.
characterized by speed: rapid motion.

noun

Usually rapids. a part of a river where the current runs very swiftly.

Origin of rapid

First recorded in 1625–35, rapid is from the Latin word rapidus tearing away, seizing, swift. See rape¹, -id⁴

Related formsrap·id·ly, adverbul·tra·rap·id, adjectiveul·tra·rap·id·ly, adverb

Can be confusedfast quick rapid swift (see synonym study at quick)

Synonyms for rapid

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2. See quick.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for rapidly

swiftly, fast, speedily, immediately, promptly, briskly, expeditiously, hastily, lickety-split, posthaste, hurriedly, precipitately

Examples from the Web for rapidly

Contemporary Examples of rapidly

The Newsroom is over, newsrooms as we traditionally understand them are rapidly declining, and New Media is here to stay.
A Few Great Men Too Many: Aaron Sorkin Doesn’t Think You Can Handle the Truth
Arthur Chu
December 21, 2014
Kendrick rapidly chants these last lines in repetition with Bilal and Anna Wise sing-shouting behind him, like a rallying cry.
Kendrick Lamar Shuts Down ‘The Colbert Report’ with Untitled Track
Charlise Ferguson
December 17, 2014
Nearly 85 percent of its population are expats drawn to work in the rapidly growing tax-havens.
Middle East Murder Mystery: Who Killed an American Teacher in Abu Dhabi?
Chris Allbritton
December 3, 2014
But Jeff, who began his foray into pot gastronomy as a hobby, is rapidly turning it into a full-time pot-repreneurial business.
Meet the Julia Child of Weed
Justin Jones
November 13, 2014
And as of late, those places are rapidly growing in numbers.
Meet the Julia Child of Weed
Justin Jones
November 13, 2014

Historical Examples of rapidly

The country was rapidly becoming, they agreed, no place for a gentleman to live.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Robert soon settled to work, and picked steadily and rapidly.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Ben Haley meanwhile was rapidly stripping the chicken of its feathers.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Then I noticed that the sun was gone, and the evening cool was rapidly falling.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
But Angelique's heart now beat so rapidly she could scarcely keep still.
The Dream
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for rapidly

rapid

adjective

(of an action or movement) performed or occurring during a short interval of time; quicka rapid transformation
characterized by high speedrapid movement
acting or moving quickly; fasta rapid worker

Word Origin for rapid

C17: from Latin rapidus tearing away, from rapere to seize; see rape 1

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 rapidly

rapid

adj.

1630s, "moving quickly," from French rapide (17c.) and directly from Latin rapidus "hasty, swift, rapid; snatching; fierce, impetuous," from rapere "hurry away, carry off, seize, plunder," from PIE root *rep- "to snatch" (cf. Greek ereptomai "devour," harpazein "snatch away," Lithuanian raples "tongs"). Meaning "happening in a short time" is from 1780. Related: Rapidly; rapidness. Rapid-transit first attested 1852, in reference to street railways; rapid eye movement is from 1906.