rapidity

noun

ra·​pid·​i·​ty rə-ˈpi-də-tē How to pronounce rapidity (audio)
ra-
: the quality or state of being rapid

Example Sentences

the rapidity with which she can do mental math calculations is amazing
Recent Examples on the Web In America, the definition of life itself is on the line in the wake of Roe's reversal, and the theft of lives by gun violence is occurring with a rapidity that wrenches the heart and churns the stomach. Holly Thomas, CNN, 10 Sep. 2022 Companies are releasing and improving powerful new tools like these with startling rapidity. Dave Platter, Forbes, 19 July 2022 Medical innovation, for example, has boosted the profits of American health care providers without producing proportional improvements in health (although the rapidity with which biotech firms produced vaccines for COVID-19 was impressive). John Horgan, Scientific American, 28 Sep. 2022 The power of poetic style, which is largely the same thing as rapidity, is pleasing for these effects alone and consists in nothing else. Colin Dickey, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2022 The volume of new development, and the rapidity with which it’s been introduced to the neighborhood, has been a difficult change for some residents. Catherine Carlock, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Sep. 2022 The rapidity of the pullback appears to have stunned Russian military troops and commanders, officials said. Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2022 The science has grown increasingly clear: In a warming, changing world, new viruses will shift between animals and into people with alarming rapidity and frequency. Melody Schreiber, The New Republic, 30 Apr. 2022 It’s a puzzle Wang hopes A.I. can solve, with rapidity. Erin Prater, Fortune, 14 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rapidity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French rapidité, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin rapiditāt-, rapiditās, from rapidus "flowing violently, rapid entry 1" + -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rapidity was in 1654

Dictionary Entries Near rapidity

Cite this Entry

“Rapidity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rapidity. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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