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Steady vs Rapid - What's the difference?

steady | rapid |

As adjectives the difference between steady and rapid

is that steady is firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm while rapid is very swift or quick.

As nouns the difference between steady and rapid

is that steady is a regular customer while 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.

As a verb steady

is to stabilize something; to prevent from shaking.

As an adverb rapid is

rapidly.

steady

English

Alternative forms

*

Adjective

(er)
  • Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.
  • :
  • *Sir (Philip Sidney) (1554-1586)
  • *:Their feet steady , their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute.
  • *
  • *:But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ΒΆ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window,.
  • *
  • *:Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile?; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.
  • Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute.
  • :
  • Smooth and not bumpy or with obstructions.
  • :
  • Regular and even.
  • :
  • Slow.
  • Antonyms

    * unsteady

    Derived terms

    * go steady * going steady * * rock-steady * steadily * steadiness * steady as she goes * steady on * steady state

    Verb

  • To stabilize something; to prevent from shaking.
  • Noun

    (steadies)
  • (informal) A regular customer.
  • * 2013 , Sheila Foster, Soho Whore
  • Some of my steadies wanted me to go out with them on a date. Occasionally I let one of them take me to a film or out for a meal.

    Anagrams

    *

    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.
  • Derived terms

    * rapidity * rapidly * rapidness * ultrarapid

    Anagrams

    *