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Fleeting vs Fast - What's the difference?

fleeting | fast |

As adjectives the difference between fleeting and fast

is that fleeting is passing quickly while fast is firmly or securely fixed in place; stable.

As verbs the difference between fleeting and fast

is that fleeting is present participle of lang=en while fast is to abstain from food, or eat very little, especially for religious or medical reasons.

As an adverb fast is

in a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved .

As a noun fast is

a train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations.

As an interjection fast is

short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target.

fleeting

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Passing quickly.
  • * 1931 , Martha Kinross, "The Screen — From This Side", The Fortnightly , Volume 130, page 511:
  • Architecture, sculpture, painting are static arts. Even in literature "our flying minds," as George Meredith says, cannot contain protracted description. It is so; for from sequences of words they must assemble all the details in one simultaneous impression. But moments of fleeting beauty too transient to be caught by any means less swift than light itself are registered on the screen.
  • * 2003 , Gabrielle Walker, Snowball Earth: The Story of a Maverick Scientist and His Theory of the Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life As We Know It , Three Rivers Press (2003), ISBN 1400051258, pages 34-35:
  • During the fleeting summer months of his field season, when the outer vestiges of winter melted briefly, there were ponds and pools and lakes of water everywhere.
  • * 2008 , Barbara L. Bellman & Susan Goldstein, Flirting After Fifty: Lessons for Grown-Up Women on How to Find Love Again , iUniverse (2008), ISBN 9780595428281, page 12:
  • For starters, we see examples all the time of some middle-aged men trying to hang onto their own fleeting youth by sporting younger women on their arms.
  • * 2010 , Leslie Ludy, The Lost Art of True Beauty: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Feminine Grace , Harvest House Publishers (2010), ISBN 9780736922906, page 5:
  • And I am inspired afresh to pursue the stunning beauty of Christ rather than the fleeting beauty of this world.

    Synonyms

    * ephemeral * See also .

    Verb

    (head)
  • fast

    English

    (wikipedia fast)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) fast, from (etyl) ; see it for cognates and further etymology. The development of “rapid” from an original sense of “secure” apparently happened first in the adverb and then transferred to the adjective; compare (hard) in expressions like “to run hard”. The original sense of “secure, firm” is now slightly archaic, but retained in the related .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (dated) Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable.
  • That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast !
  • Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
  • * Spenser
  • outlaws lurking in woods and fast places
  • (of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".)
  • Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid.
  • I am going to buy a fast car.
  • (computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
  • Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people).
  • * Shakespeare
  • all this while in a most fast sleep
  • (of dyes or colours) Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent.
  • All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast .
  • (obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.
  • (colloquial) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.
  • She's fast – she slept with him on their first date. .
  • Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
  • There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast .
  • (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average.
  • Synonyms
    * (occurring or happening within a short time) quick, rapid, speedy, swift * (capable of moving with great speed) quick, rapid, speedy * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) ahead * (rapidly consents to sexual activity) easy, slutty * (firmly or securely fixed in place) firm, immobile, secure, stable, stuck, tight * (firm against attack) fortified, impenetrable * colour-fast * deep, sound
    Antonyms
    * (occurring or happening within a short time) slow * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) slow, behind * (firmly or securely fixed in place) loose * (firm against attack) penetrable, weak * light
    Derived terms
    * bedfast * chairfast * fasten (rapid) * fast and furious * fast food * fast-forward

    Adverb

    (er)
  • In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved .
  • (of sleeping) Deeply or soundly .
  • Immediately following in place or time; close, very near .
  • Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-17, volume=408, issue=8849, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Pennies streaming from heaven , passage=Faster than a speeding bit, the internet upended media and entertainment companies. Piracy soared, and sales of albums and films slid. Newspapers lost advertising and readers to websites. Stores selling books, CDs and DVDs went bust. Doomsayers predicted that consumers and advertisers would abandon pay-television en masse in favour of online alternatives.}}
  • Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
  • Synonyms
    * (quickly) quickly, rapidly, speedily, swiftly * (in a firm or secure manner) firmly, securely, tightly * deeply * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) ahead
    Antonyms
    * (quickly) slowly * (in a firm or secure manner) loosely * lightly * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) behind

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (British, rail transport) A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations
  • Synonyms
    * (rail transport) express, express train, fast train
    Antonyms
    * (rail transport) local, slow train, stopper

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target
  • Antonyms
    * (archery) loose

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) fasten, from (etyl) . The noun is probably from (etyl) fasta.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To abstain from food, or eat very little, especially for religious or medical reasons.
  • Muslims fast during Ramadan.
  • * Bible, 2 Sam. xii. 21
  • Thou didst fast and weep for the child.
  • * Milton
  • Fasting' he went to sleep, and ' fasting waked.
  • * 2007 , John Zerzan, Silence , p. 3,
  • It is at the core of the Vision Quest, the solitary period of fasting and closeness to the earth to discover one's life path and purpose.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act or practice of abstaining from food or of eating very little food
  • The period of time during which one abstains from or eats very little food
  • * Lent and Ramadan are fasts of two religions.
  • Synonyms
    * (act or practice) fasting
    Derived terms
    * break one's fast * breakfast * fast day

    Statistics

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