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Rapid vs Whirlwind - What's the difference?

rapid | whirlwind | Related terms |

As adjectives the difference between rapid and whirlwind

is that rapid is very swift or quick while whirlwind is rapid and minimal: a whirlwind tour, a whirlwind guide.

As nouns the difference between rapid and whirlwind

is that rapid is a rough section of a river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift and turbulent motion of the water while whirlwind is a violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion.

As an adverb rapid

is rapidly.

rapid

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Very swift or quick.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
    • Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
    • , chapter=5 citation , passage=The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author= Chico Harlan
    • , volume=189, issue=2, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Japan pockets the subsidy … , passage=Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."}}
  • Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope)
  • Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.)
  • (England, dialectal) Violent, severe.
  • (obsolete, dialectal) Happy.

    • Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (archaic or colloquial) Rapidly.

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (often, in the plural) a rough section of a river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift and turbulent motion of the water.
  • (dated) A burst of rapid fire.

    • Related terms

    * rapt

    Derived terms

    * rapidity * rapidly * rapidness * ultrarapid

    Anagrams

    *

    whirlwind

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia whirlwind)
  • A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion.
  • (figuratively) A person or body of objects or events sweeping violently onward.
    • The weeks leading up to the convention were a whirlwind of preparation and hurried activity.
    Once he got that new scooter he turned into a whirlwind and damaged all the flowers.

    Derived terms

    *

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Rapid and minimal: a whirlwind tour'', ''a whirlwind guide .