Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Moving, acting, or occurring with great speed. synonym: fast.
- noun An extremely fast-moving part of a river, caused by a steep descent in the riverbed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In photography, said of plates, lenses, and subjects which require short exposure or print rapidly.
- Moving or doing swiftly or with celerity; acting or performing with speed; quick in motion or execution: as, a rapid horse; a rapid worker or speaker.
- Swiftly advancing; going on or forward at a fast rate; making quick progress: as, rapid growth; rapid improvement; a rapid conflagration.
- Marked by swiftness of motion or action; proceeding or performed with velocity; executed speedily.
- Gay.
- =Syn. 1–3. Fast, fleet, expeditious, hasty, hurried.
- noun A swift current in a river, where the channel is descending; a part of a river where the current runs with more than its ordinary celerity; a sudden descent of the surface of a stream, more or less broken by obstructions, but without actual cataract or cascade: usually in the plural.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast
- adjective Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick sequence
- adjective Quick in execution.
- noun The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; sometimes called
whitewater ; -- usually used in the plural.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Describes a
process orconcept whichoccurs quickly . - noun often in the plural a rough section of a
river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift andturbulent motion of the water.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective done or occurring in a brief period of time
- adjective characterized by speed; moving with or capable of moving with high speed
- noun a part of a river where the current is very fast
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Canyon, because the declivity within it is so great and the water descends with such tremendous velocity and continuity that he thought the term rapid failed to interpret the conditions.
A Canyon Voyage The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872 Frederick S. Dellenbaugh
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When a person is in the REM phase, there is a noticeable twitching movement of the eyes under closed lids (hence the term rapid eye movement), and the voluntary muscles of the body are usually paralysed.
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He also says China can no longer sacrifice the environment for what he describes as rapid and reckless development.
China Lowers Growth Forecast to Curb Inflation, Pollution 2011
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Opponents of Dodd-Frank decry what they call a rapid and haphazard approach, saying market participants "don't know what the rules are or whether these rules cover them," said Jess Sharp , a top official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Gensler's Struggles Mark Regulatory Challenges Deborah Solomon 2011
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He also says China can no longer sacrifice the environment for what he describes as rapid and reckless development.
China Lowers Growth Forecast to Curb Inflation, Pollution 2011
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The Red Cross folks say that they hope to get there tonight and that the first thing they're going to do is try to build up what they call a rapid deployment hospital.
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QUESTION: There are some concerns in this country about the European plan for what they call a rapid-reaction force, their own military capability.
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Problems in the police were being aggravated by what he described as a rapid globalisation of crime and criminals becoming more sophisticated.
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Bank experts insist that unless there is what they call rapid market-assisted land reform, any future economic development will be precarious.
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But the difficulty of going at what I call a rapid pace, is prodigious; it is almost an impossibility.
The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete John Forster 1844
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Recruitment information with a link to the survey was placed on three websites where parents and professionals had been observed to describe what seemed to be a sudden or rapid onset of gender dysphoria (4thwavenow, transgender trend, and youthtranscriticalprofessionals), although the specific terminology “rapid onset gender dysphoria” did not appear on these websites until the recruitment information using that term was first posted on the sites.
Parent reports of adolescents and young adults perceived to show signs of a rapid onset of gender dysphoria Lisa Littman 2023
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