Synonyms of fast

fast 1 of 4

adverb

1

as in quickly

with great speed

run as fast as you can to get help

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quickly
• rapidly
• quick
• swiftly
• hot
• soon
• swift
• immediately
• promptly
• hastily
• speedily
• briskly
• in a hurry
• in short order
• by leaps and bounds
• at full tilt
• double-quick
• like a shot
• like wildfire
• at full throttle
• apace
• fleetly
• presto
• like gangbusters
• a mile a minute
• lickety-split
• abruptly
• hell-for-leather
• chop-chop
• pronto
• snappily
• readily
• recklessly
• vigorously
• posthaste
• full tilt
• impulsively
• rashly
• suddenly
• impetuously
• energetically

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slowly
• slow
• sluggishly
• deliberately
• leisurely
• lingeringly
• ploddingly
• belatedly
• laggardly
• tardily
• delinquently

2

as in quite

to a full extent or degree

everyone in camp was fast asleep within minutes of hitting the sack

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quite
• perfectly
• completely
• fully
• totally
• all
• utterly
• well
• wide
• even
• thoroughly
• wholly
• exactly
• entirely
• entire
• out
• enough
• absolutely
• clean
• flat
• dead
• for fair
• full
• all the way
• down to the ground
• in whole
• at length
• down the line
• to pieces
• basically
• soundly
• all over
• heartily
• altogether
• to bits
• cold
• through and through
• to the hilt
• mostly
• plain
• to the max
• generally
• substantially
• plumb
• all of
• downright
• largely
• unqualifiedly
• mainly
• greatly
• primarily
• predominantly
• categorically
• principally
• chiefly
• more or less
• by and large
• predominately
• overall
• stone-cold
• abundantly
• generously
• hands down
• copiously
• stone

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• halfway
• partly
• partially
• just
• half
• slightly
• hardly
• barely
• scarcely
• minimally
• marginally
• somewhat
• superficially
• incompletely
• part
• roughly
• approximately
• kind of

fast

2 of 4

adjective

ˈfast 

1

as in rapid

moving, proceeding, or acting with great speed

the fast pace of construction resulted in our new house being done ahead of schedule

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rapid
• quick
• brisk
• galloping
• swift
• speedy
• lightning
• whirlwind
• hot
• hasty
• rattling
• rapid-fire
• hurried
• flying
• breathless
• splitting
• zippy
• blistering
• breakneck
• fleet
• accelerated
• snappy
• dizzy
• nippy
• expeditious
• rushed
• fleet-footed
• at speed
• strong
• ready
• prompt
• vigorous
• high-speed
• breathtaking
• quickened
• rush
• energetic
• strenuous
• ultrafast
• hastened
• ultrarapid

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slow
• sluggish
• crawling
• unhurried
• dragging
• languid
• pokey
• leisurely
• deliberate
• poky
• plodding
• laggard
• lingering
• late
• dallying
• slowish
• measured
• dilatory
• tardy
• dillydallying
• dawdling
• poking
• ultraslow

2

as in loyal

firm in one's allegiance to someone or something

the two girls soon became fast and inseparable friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

• loyal
• steadfast
• staunch
• faithful
• good
• true
• devout
• dedicated
• steady
• devoted
• constant
• pious
• reliable
• down-the-line
• dependable
• stanch
• ardent
• fervent
• solid
• passionate
• trustworthy
• responsible
• true-blue
• enthusiastic
• dutiful
• trusty
• resolute
• unhesitating
• tried
• serious
• unfaltering
• determined
• intent
• tried-and-true
• unwavering
• confirmed
• fervid
• impassioned
• avid
• sworn
• inveterate
• gung ho
• dyed-in-the-wool

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• false
• unreliable
• treacherous
• untrue
• fickle
• disloyal
• unfaithful
• inconstant
• faithless
• irresponsible
• perfidious
• traitorous
• untrustworthy
• undependable
• hesitant
• uncertain
• shaky
• faltering
• dubious
• recreant
• irresolute
• dispassionate
• uninterested
• apathetic
• wavering
• vacillating

3

as in tight

firmly positioned in place and difficult to dislodge

the rusty, old screws are so fast in the fitting that there's no hope of getting them out

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tight
• stuck
• jammed
• frozen
• glued
• firm
• embedded
• snug
• set
• lodged
• wedged
• clamped
• secured
• attached
• anchored
• bound
• bonded
• cemented
• entrenched
• fastened
• impacted
• immovable
• intrenched
• imbedded
• unyielding
• implanted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loose
• insecure
• unsecured
• detached
• unbound
• movable
• unattached
• undone
• freed
• moveable
• yielding
• loosened
• unfastened
• dislodged

4

as in deceptive

given to or marked by cheating and deception

rolling back odometers was just one of the fast practices that the used-car dealer was guilty of

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceptive
• fraudulent
• shady
• crooked
• dishonest
• sharp
• shifty
• false
• rogue
• bent
• underhand
• underhanded
• duplicitous
• artful
• guileful
• treacherous
• unscrupulous
• subtle
• slick
• cunning
• unethical
• unprincipled
• deceiving
• double-dealing
• deceitful
• unconscionable
• slippery
• tricky
• wily
• crafty
• sly
• beguiling
• delusive
• sneaky
• cagey
• foxy
• insidious
• furtive
• devious
• perfidious
• cagy
• trickish
• delusory
• deluding
• sneaking
• defrauding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straight
• honest
• ethical
• decent
• honorable
• conscientious
• just
• upright
• scrupulous
• straightforward
• aboveboard
• forthright

5

as in sturdy

marked by the ability to withstand stress without structural damage or distortion

as the storm approached, we checked to see that every thing on the outside of the house was fast and locked in position

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sturdy
• strong
• stable
• durable
• reliable
• sound
• dependable
• stalwart
• bombproof
• firm
• solid
• tough
• unbreakable
• beefy
• cohesive
• infrangible
• irrefragable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unstable
• weak
• unsteady
• rickety
• unsound
• insecure
• infirm
• shaky
• unbalanced
• wobbly
• unsubstantial
• wabbly
• tottering
• tottery

6

as in short

not lasting for a considerable time

after a fast explanation of the procedure, we were turned loose to do the work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• short
• brief
• little
• sudden
• concise
• compact
• transient
• shortened
• condensed
• abrupt
• curtailed
• abbreviated
• syncopated
• ephemeral
• succinct
• fleeting
• transitory
• abridged
• short-lived
• shortish
• momentary
• pithy
• crisp
• laconic
• terse
• short-term
• short-range
• summary
• cut-back
• epigrammatic
• impermanent
• compendious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• long
• great
• far
• lengthy
• extended
• persistent
• endless
• everlasting
• prolonged
• unending
• interminable
• permanent
• protracted
• long-drawn-out
• long-lived
• long-drawn
• longish
• enlarged
• overlong
• long-term
• long-range
• expanded
• supplemented

7

as in quick

having or showing quickness of mind

I don't know how to operate this machine, but I'm a fast learner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quick
• intelligent
• clever
• smart
• brilliant
• sharp
• exceptional
• bright
• keen
• nimble
• wise
• skilled
• educated
• alert
• quick-witted
• brainy
• ultrasmart
• supersmart
• cunning
• sharp-witted
• sensible
• resourceful
• acute
• literate
• learned
• creative
• apt
• ingenious
• reasonable
• hyperintelligent
• insightful
• savvy
• perceptive
• schooled
• astute
• prudent
• logical
• knowledgeable
• cerebral
• knowing
• trained
• heady
• sound
• scholarly
• informed
• sagacious
• judicious
• rational
• discerning
• sane
• inventive
• erudite
• perspicacious
• genial
• shrewd
• wily
• crafty
• highbrow
• sage
• sapient
• percipient
• well-read
• foxy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slow
• simple
• dense
• stupid
• thick
• dumb
• soft
• dull
• opaque
• dim
• mindless
• unintelligent
• senseless
• obtuse
• vacuous
• fatuous
• dopey
• brainless
• witless
• brain-dead
• doltish
• thickheaded
• weak-minded
• boneheaded
• lamebrain
• dorky
• dopy
• lamebrained
• silly
• foolish
• pinheaded
• softheaded
• empty-headed
• dunderheaded
• feebleminded
• simpleminded
• idiotic
• unbrilliant
• moronic
• slow-witted
• imbecile
• unsmart
• ignorant
• dim-witted
• gormless
• imbecilic
• unthinking
• uneducated
• illiterate
• airheaded
• knuckleheaded
• uninformed
• insane
• crazy
• lunkheaded
• mad
• thick-witted
• bubbleheaded
• chuckleheaded
• absurd
• unwise
• birdbrained
• half-witted
• untaught
• unintellectual
• lowbrow
• nonintellectual
• unacademic
• nutty
• wacky
• preposterous
• nonsensical
• idiotical
• zany
• cuckoo
• fool
• balmy
• sappy
• loony
• asinine
• whacky
• daft
• kooky
• dippy
• daffy
• boobish
• dotty
• half-baked
• harebrained
• screwball
• cockeyed
• looney
• crackpot
• featherheaded
• tomfool
• kookie

fast

3 of 4

noun

as in famine

Related Words

• famine
• craving
• hunger strike
• sweet tooth
• starvation
• greed
• gluttony
• hoggishness
• malnutrition
• gourmandism
• undernourishment
• voracity
• rapacity
• stomach
• hunger
• voraciousness
• ravenousness
• famishment
• belly
• appetite
• rapaciousness
• emptiness
• munchies

Dissimilar Words

• satisfaction
• fill
• fullness
• satiety
• glut
• satiation
• inappetence
• surfeit
• repletion
• repleteness

fast

4 of 4

verb

as in to diet

Related Words

• diet

Dissimilar Words

• stuff
• sate
• cram
• gorge
• glut
• gobble
• surfeit
• pig out
• gulp
• guzzle
• gormandize

Try This Instead

For

Try This

a fast response

a quick response

a timely response

a speedy response

a rapid response

a same-day response

a fast pace

an accelerated pace

a swift pace

a rapid pace

a quick pace

a frantic pace

a fast track

a focused track

an expeditious track

a quick track

a rapid track

an advanced track

a fast service

a quick-response service

an efficient service

a prompt service

an instant service

a timely service

a fast growth

a rapid growth

a drastic growth

a swift growth

a sharp growth

a strong growth

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective fast contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of fast are expeditious, fleet, hasty, quick, rapid, speedy, and swift. While all these words mean "moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity," fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves.

fast horses

When can expeditious be used instead of fast?

The words expeditious and fast are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

the expeditious handling of an order

When is it sensible to use fleet instead of fast?

While the synonyms fleet and fast are close in meaning, fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

fleet runners

In what contexts can hasty take the place of fast?

Although the words hasty and fast have much in common, hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

a hasty inspection

When would quick be a good substitute for fast?

In some situations, the words quick and fast are roughly equivalent. However, quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

a quick wit

When might rapid be a better fit than fast?

The meanings of rapid and fast largely overlap; however, rapid applies to the movement itself, rather than to the thing that moves.

rapid current

When is speedy a more appropriate choice than fast?

The words speedy and fast can be used in similar contexts, but speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment and may also suggest unusual velocity.

speedy delivery of mail

When could swift be used to replace fast?

While in some cases nearly identical to fast, swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

returned the ball with one swift stroke

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fast

Adverb

With summer fast approaching and most of us spending much more time in the sun, any reminder to wear sunscreen is a good one – but especially if a 17-time WWE world champion tells you to. —Sam Woodward, USA Today, 16 May 2025

Look for sales: Start at the sales rack With summer fast approaching, retailers are likely to advertise Memorial Day sales. —Julia Doyle, CBS News, 13 May 2025

Adjective

Eventually, military leaders want satellites to handle all of these tasks autonomously in space and do it fast enough for US or allied forces to respond to an imminent threat. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2025

By Bush’s account, Greenspan wasn’t cutting rates fast enough at the time, thus costing him a second term. —Fred Imbert, CNBC, 18 July 2025

Noun

The administration needs to move fast and nominate a leader for NASA who will prioritize Artemis and its core mission. —Matthew Beddingfield, Scientific American, 2 Aug. 2025

Hospital costs are also growing twice as fast as the median household’s income. —Wayne Winegarden, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025

Verb

Its revenue grew 78% to $500 million, its fastest revenue growth in three years, according to the company. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025

The company said iPhone sales grew 13% year over year and total revenue grew 10%, marking Apple’s fastest quarterly revenue growth since December 2021. —Darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 1 Aug. 2025