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rapidly

UK/ˈɹæpɪdli/US/ˈɹæpɪdli/
adverbB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,328 of 15,258leans written

Rapidly means at great speed. Growing rapidly, rapidly changing, deteriorate rapidly.

It goes with change above all — rapidly rising, rapidly falling, a rapidly changing situation — and far less often with plain movement, where quickly does the work. In medicine, deteriorating rapidly is a phrase nobody wants to hear.

Definitions of rapidly

  1. 1adverbrapidlyAt great speed.B2

    “The fire spread rapidly through the dry forest.”

rapidly is a speed.

Where it comes from

  1. Latin

    rapidus

  2. Middle French

    rapide

  3. English

    rapid

  4. English, today

    rapidly

From rapid + -ly. rapid Borrowed from Middle French rapide, from Latin rapidus. Borrowed from Middle French rapide and its etymon Latin rapidus.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

rapidly in the wild

  • A sidearm is an individual-served weapon that is kept at one's side and can be rapidly accessed if needed.

    Sidearm (weapon)

  • Potheri is located in South Chennai and it is developing rapidly in the modern developments.

    Potheri Village, Chengalpattu

  • Given its large population and rapidly growing economy, the country's energy needs are growing rapidly.

    Energy in the Philippines

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the rapide family

rapidlyrapids

rapidly — used about once every 897 pages · #4,328 · point at the bar for the others