rapidly

R1A1P3I1D2L1Y4
/ˈɹæpɪdli/

adverb

With speed; in a rapid manner.

“She packed her case rapidly and hurried out.”

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

adverbrapidly (comparative more rapidly, superlative most rapidly)

comparative more rapidly · superlative most rapidly

  1. With speed; in a rapid manner.

    She packed her case rapidly and hurried out.

    4 more examples

    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

    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 06 Aug 2013

    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

    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

    Synonyms: quickly, speedily

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbWith speed; in a rapid manner.

More synonyms by meaning

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁p-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁r̥h₁pyéti
  3. Proto-Italic*rapjō
  4. Latinrapiō
  5. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  6. Latinrapidus
  7. Middle Frenchrapide
  8. Latinrapidus
  9. Englishrapid
  10. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  11. Proto-Germanic*līką
  12. Englishrapidly

From rapid + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek τάχα, ταχέως
  • τάχα (tákha)with speed
  • ταχέως (takhéōs)with speed
Catalan ràpidament
  • ràpidamentwith speed
Chinese Mandarin 迅速地, 快速地
  • 迅速地 (xùnsù de)with speed
  • 快速地 (kuàisù de)with speed
  • 急速地 (jísù de)with speed
  • 趕快地 /赶快地 (gǎnkuài de)with speed
Esperanto rapide
  • rapidewith speed
Finnish nopeasti
  • nopeastiwith speed
French rapidement
  • rapidementwith speed
German schnell
  • schnellwith speed
Hungarian gyorsan
  • gyorsanwith speed
Korean 급속(急速)히
  • 급속(急速)히 (geupsokhi)with speed
Polish szybko
  • szybkowith speed
Portuguese rapidamente
  • rapidamentewith speed
Romanian repede, rapid
  • repedewith speed
  • rapidwith speed
Russian бы́стро
  • бы́стро (býstro)with speed
Spanish rápidamente, rápido
  • rápidamentewith speed
  • rápidowith speed

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

rapidly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rapidly

MLA

“rapidly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rapidly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rapidly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rapidly.

Source: rapidly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.