lightning

adjective

Definition of lightningnext
as in rapid
moving, proceeding, or acting with great speed he made a lightning dash for the goal

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 lightning Digital assets are moving at hyper-lightning speed. — Manny Khan, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lightning
  1. rapid
  2. quick
  3. fast
  4. brisk
  5. galloping
  6. swift
Adjective
  • The numbers are vast and climbing again but during the countdown to another season, beginning on Friday night, there has been another timely marker to illustrate the rapid financial growth of the Premier League and its elite.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The state alleges OpenAI's rapid success stems from deceit and exploitation, causing widespread harm to Floridians and subverting public order.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of rapid
Adjective
  • Staff in the South Stand offices would spend the winter months wearing jackets due to a broken boiler and, according to Bruce, only the players quickest to the dressing-room showers could expect to enjoy hot water after games.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • This is excellent energy for captions, pitches, texts, brainstorming, flirting, or turning a quick idea into something shareable.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of quick
Adjective
  • Edstrom is big and fast, competes hard, and creates a lot of offense in the high-percentage areas.
    — Corey Pronman, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • These developments prompted more cries of outrage, including one from the Democratic senator Mark Warner, who has introduced a bill that would ban social-media companies from selling fast access to accounts of government employees.
    — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of fast
Adjective
  • The affect of these books—brisk, unsentimental, exacting—serves their diagnosis.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
  • This cooling tub can be installed inside or out and drops the water temp to a brisk 37°F for consistent recovery sessions.
    — Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of brisk
Adjective
  • As his health faded in the last year of his life, Neruda rushed to finish his story, which gives the last chapters of his book a galloping, fragmented quality.
    — Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 25 June 2021
  • Designed by renowned architect Dominique Perrault, its four stories tilting forward are said to evoke a galloping horse.
    — Rob Hodgetts at Longchamp, CNN, 15 Oct. 2019
Definition of galloping
Adjective
  • Oil prices and government borrowing costs climbed higher on Tuesday as traders’ hopes of a swift resolution to the US-Iran conflict fade.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Comcast plans to separate out NBCUniversal in 2027, a swift follow-up to the spinout of Versant, its portfolio of cable TV networks, including CNBC.
    — Alex Sherman,Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of swift

Phrases Containing lightning

Browse Nearby Words

lightness
lightning
lightning rod
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lightning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lightning. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lightning

Nglish: Translation of lightning for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lightning

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