expeditious
adjective
Did you know?
The Real Root of Expeditious
Like expeditious, all of the following words contain ped. Can you guess which ones get those three letters from the same Latin root as expeditious?
encyclopedia expedition stampede torpedo orthopedic impede
The Latin source of expeditious is the verb expedire, which means "to extricate," to prepare, or to be useful. The ped is from pes, meaning "foot." (The ex- means "out of," and the literal sense of expedire is to free the feet.) The ped in impede also comes from pes. But the ped in encyclopedia and orthopedic is from the Greek pais, meaning "child"; stampede is from the Spanish estampar, meaning "to stamp"; and torpedo is from the Latin torpere, meaning "to be sluggish." What about expedition? Meaning both a journey and promptness, it too is from expedire."
Synonyms
- alacritous
- alert
- prompt
- quick
- ready
- willing
Example Sentences
Victoria Coates, National Review, 20 Aug. 2022 In The New York Times, Michelle Goldberg has congratulated the British and our system of parliamentary government on the expeditious way an unworthy head of government can be removed, something Americans can only dream of. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2022 Lingering for three days cannot be considered expeditious or continuous. Jill Goldenziel, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2022 The most expeditious way to discover whether your whatnot is worth something or nothing is to visit an actual consignment shop in an actual building. Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 Many entrants in digital health look for a big brand to buy them, enabling an expeditious exit. Dave Kuraguntla, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2022 While quick to applaud the decision to feed manatees, Save the Manatee Club was equally expeditious in reminding the general public to avoid giving food to the animals. Max Chesnes, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2021 Coming into Bond Avenue Fish and Poultry isn’t meant to be an expeditious experience. Tara Adhikari, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2021 Britney files her own request with the court demanding the expeditious end to her conservatorship. Claudia Rosenbaum, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2021 See More Word History
1599, in the meaning defined above
expeditious
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- quick
- swift
- immediate
- rapid
- responsive
- prompt
- willing
- ready
- alacritous
- fast
- brisk
- speedy
- instantaneous
- alert
- instant
- clever
- receptive
- eager
- keen
- summary
- smart
- fleet
- breakneck
- sharp
- lightning
- apt
- rattling
- whirlwind
- breathless
- snappy
- rapid-fire
- fleet-footed
- quick-witted
- hit-and-run
- sharp-witted
- ready-witted
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unresponsive
- slow
- unhurried
- dilatory
- leisurely
- tardy
- sluggish
- lazy
- dragging
- pokey
- crawling
- creeping
- slothful
- lagging
- laggard
- dillydallying
- poky
- dallying
- idle
- inert
- poking
- dawdling
- logy
- slowish
- inactive
- loggy
- dormant
- lazyish
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of expeditious are fast, fleet, hasty, quick, rapid, speedy, and swift. While all these words mean "moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity," expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.
Both fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves.
In some situations, the words fleet and expeditious are roughly equivalent. However, fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.
While the synonyms hasty and expeditious are close in meaning, hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.
The synonyms quick and expeditious are sometimes interchangeable, but quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.
The words rapid and expeditious can be used in similar contexts, but rapid applies to the movement itself, rather than to the thing that moves.
While in some cases nearly identical to expeditious, speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment and may also suggest unusual velocity.
Although the words swift and expeditious have much in common, swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.