Dictionary

rapidly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹæpɪdli/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti Proto-Italic *rapjō Latin rapiō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin rapidusder. Middle French rapidebor. ▲ Latin rapidusbor. English rapid Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English rapidly From rapid + -ly.

Meanings

1. With speed; in a rapid manner.
   • Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete. 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845, archived from the original on 17 Jul 2020:
   • We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
   • Typically for the 'get-on-with-it' era, the railway and military worked like demons to restore the vital rail link. The crater was rapidly filled in and the earth tamped solid, the wreckage was removed by breakdown trains, new rails and sleepers were rushed forward by willing hands, and US Army bulldozers piled in. By 2020 on the same day, both tracks were open for traffic again where there had been a gaping pit just hours before. 2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43:
   • She packed her case rapidly and hurried out.
   • But even as he announced the military operation, he appeared to be rapidly trying to get himself back to the middle by insisting that the strike was a one-off and that he continues to seek peace. 2025 June 22, Luke Broadwater, “Trump Picks a Side on Entering the War in Iran, for Now”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 22 Jun 2025:

Forms

Deriveds

ultrarapidly

Synonyms

speedily (with speed) · quickly (with speed)

Translations (34)

cmn 趕快地 /赶快地 (with speed) · eo rapide (with speed) · sa आशु (with speed) · alt ылтам (with speed) · es rápidamente (with speed) · nv hah (with speed) · pl szybko (with speed) · ckb بەخێرایی (with speed) · ro rapid (with speed) · vo vifiko (with speed) · vo vifo (with speed) · pt rapidamente (with speed) · vo spido (with speed) · sa मक्षू (with speed) · te త్వరత్వరగా (with speed) · ru бы́стро (with speed) · de schnell (with speed) · ca ràpidament (with speed) · pdt fluks (with speed) · ro repede (with speed) · cmn 急速地 (with speed) · hu gyorsan (with speed) · gl rapidamente (with speed) · io rapide (with speed) · grc τάχα (with speed) · ko 급속(急速)히 (with speed) · fr rapidement (with speed) · vo spidiko (with speed) · cmn 快速地 (with speed) · es rápido (with speed) · grc ταχέως (with speed) · mhr виян (with speed) · fi nopeasti (with speed) · cmn 迅速地 (with speed)