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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective hasty contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of hasty are expeditious, fast, fleet, quick, rapid, speedy, and swift. While all these words mean "moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity," hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

a hasty inspection

When is expeditious a more appropriate choice than hasty?

The words expeditious and hasty can be used in similar contexts, but expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

the expeditious handling of an order

How are the words fast and rapid related as synonyms of hasty?

Both fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves.

fast horses

When could fleet be used to replace hasty?

In some situations, the words fleet and hasty are roughly equivalent. However, fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

fleet runners

When would quick be a good substitute for hasty?

Although the words quick and hasty have much in common, quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

a quick wit

When can rapid be used instead of hasty?

The synonyms rapid and hasty are sometimes interchangeable, but rapid applies to the movement itself, rather than to the thing that moves.

rapid current

When is it sensible to use speedy instead of hasty?

While in some cases nearly identical to hasty, speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment and may also suggest unusual velocity.

speedy delivery of mail

Where would swift be a reasonable alternative to hasty?

While the synonyms swift and hasty are close in meaning, swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

returned the ball with one swift stroke

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hasty Eight Unbearable Days Ray, Ben, Michael, Michelle’s brother, and Ben’s dad drove up I-70 to Vail, checking into a hotel just after dark as the first hasty teams from VMRG were heading up the mountain. Ted Katauskas, Outside, 23 Sep. 2025 In boardrooms across the globe, a familiar script is getting a hasty rewrite. Ajay Pundhir, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 Cassandra Austen’s hasty and incomplete sketch of Jane survives in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Lucy Worsley september 16, Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2025 John Sandweg, the former director of ICE during the Obama administration, said the facility’s hasty construction in just over a week made errors inevitable. Ben Wieder, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hasty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hasty
Adjective
  • Carter had to make a hurried Middle East trip – including a speech to the Knesset – before the two nations formally signed a treaty some six months hence.
    Carl Leubsdorf, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Francis Westfield went close with a diving header from the edge of the box, and Luke Brennan wasted a glorious chance for a late leveller when he was found unmarked at the back post, but his hurried shot flew high and wide.
    The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Employers can tap our natural human urge to connect through culture-building and clear organizational purpose – especially during rapid transformation like the AI revolution and other economic pressures.
    Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.
    CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Our poor Toby, always so stressed, always so rushed.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
  • These alternatives can often provide a richer, less rushed experience than a whirlwind day trip to Paris.
    David Nikel, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • His positioning and reading of the game remain sharp, his footwork is clean, and his reactions are quick.
    Beren Cross, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Wetkiss Knee-High Boots Lorelai's shoe collection is as memorable as her quick wit, and nothing says cool-weather quite like a pair of boots.
    Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Finally, as ever, the potential for rash, impulsive decisions with disastrous long-term consequences is never out of mind with this franchise.
    John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
  • When one patient, a new mother experiencing postpartum depression, commits an impulsive, desperate act, Linda is forced to contend with her own physically and emotionally unavailable husband.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • On a brisk February evening in 2006, around a hundred people gathered in the venerable Koreatown watering hole HMS Bounty to pay their last respects to Los Angeles’ historic Ambassador Hotel.
    Michael Schneider, Variety, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Playing there in October, Nadal, Świątek and their foes had to reckon with brisk winds, gray skies and plummeting thermometers.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Elementary school students spent more time in front of the TV than in school, viewing thousands of commercials for sugary cereals, candies and fast foods every year.
    Alice Callahan, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Jinga further noted that as Dexory continues to improve the technology that underlies DexoryView, existing customers will benefit from the upgrades and new customers will see faster deployments and quicker return on investment.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Anyone who was at an exposure location and develops symptoms — which include fever, rash, cough, runny nose and red, itchy eyes — should contact their health care provider by phone.
    Katie Langford, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Worse, many engaged in a particularly rash form of gaming, making high-speed wagers on in-game action — a pernicious new product called microbetting.
    Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hasty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hasty. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

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