as in velocity
a high rate of movement or performance
the rapidity with which she can do mental math calculations is amazing
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Recent Examples of rapidity
The rapidity of the decision is key: if the cell relies on more traditional signaling pathways that activate genes in response to an infection, an agile virus could take control of the cell’s protein-making machinery before the cell has a chance to respond.
—
Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2025
This rapidity of implementation means that attorneys cannot wait to see how things might develop but must start preparing, or at least learning about it, now.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The rapidity and the terseness of the onscreen action leaps from scene to scene, from event to event, from one salient point to the next, with nothing incidental in between, nothing revealing anything besides what directly elucidates the story as Polanski chooses to tell it.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
The rapidity of this population decline has forced significant revisions to official estimates of how fast China will age.
—Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 3 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for rapidity
Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2025
This rapidity of implementation means that attorneys cannot wait to see how things might develop but must start preparing, or at least learning about it, now.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The rapidity and the terseness of the onscreen action leaps from scene to scene, from event to event, from one salient point to the next, with nothing incidental in between, nothing revealing anything besides what directly elucidates the story as Polanski chooses to tell it.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
The rapidity of this population decline has forced significant revisions to official estimates of how fast China will age.
—Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 3 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for rapidity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapidity
Noun
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While Ward’s speed made for a rude welcoming, the most notable part of Cole’s day was his velocity.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
18 Mar. 2026
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Also, his fastball velocity has dipped, from 91-92 mph in his March 5 start to 89-90 on Tuesday night.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Any private operator taking over the reins would require years to come up to speed on how to make the system work, let alone to improve it, Hernandez said.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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Add 8 large eggs and blend on high speed until chives are mostly puréed and mixture is green.—
Inés Anguiano,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rapidity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapidity. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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