swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.
returned the ball with one swift stroke
fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.
fleet runners
quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.
a quick wit
speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment
speedy delivery of mail
and may also suggest unusual velocity.
hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.
a hasty inspection
expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.
the expeditious handling of an order
Examples of speedy in a Sentence
They wished her a speedy recovery.
a speedy worker but not a very careful one, unfortunately
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The new center is also a short distance from the DHL international air freight hub, enabling speedier processing of incoming merchandise, outgoing orders and returns.—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 6 Jan. 2025 Plop these on top of a bowl of rice for dinner tonight and then save the leftovers to simmer in broth for a speedy soup tomorrow.—Melissa Clark, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025 The real money casino offers perks like separate sections for poker and bingo, a great range of banking methods and speedy payouts.—Matthew Gover, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2025 The asteroid will zoom past us at a speed of around 11.33 km/s, or roughly 25,300 mph, which is several times faster than even the speediest bullets.—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for speedy
Word History
Etymology
Middle English spedi "beneficial, unencumbered, agile, prompt," from sped "luck, success, assistance, rate of progress" + -i-y entry 1 — more at speed entry 1
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