Synonyms of fast

fast 1 of 4

adverb

1

as in quickly

with great speed

run as fast as you can to get help

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quickly
• rapidly
• quick
• swiftly
• hot
• soon
• swift
• immediately
• promptly
• hastily
• speedily
• briskly
• in a hurry
• in short order
• by leaps and bounds
• at full tilt
• double-quick
• like a shot
• like wildfire
• at full throttle
• apace
• fleetly
• presto
• like gangbusters
• a mile a minute
• lickety-split
• abruptly
• hell-for-leather
• chop-chop
• pronto
• snappily
• readily
• recklessly
• vigorously
• posthaste
• full tilt
• impulsively
• rashly
• suddenly
• impetuously
• energetically

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slowly
• slow
• sluggishly
• deliberately
• leisurely
• lingeringly
• ploddingly
• belatedly
• laggardly
• tardily
• delinquently

2

as in quite

to a full extent or degree

everyone in camp was fast asleep within minutes of hitting the sack

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quite
• perfectly
• completely
• fully
• totally
• all
• utterly
• well
• wide
• even
• thoroughly
• wholly
• exactly
• entirely
• entire
• out
• enough
• absolutely
• clean
• flat
• dead
• for fair
• full
• all the way
• down to the ground
• in whole
• at length
• down the line
• to pieces
• basically
• soundly
• all over
• heartily
• altogether
• to bits
• cold
• through and through
• to the hilt
• mostly
• plain
• to the max
• generally
• substantially
• plumb
• all of
• downright
• largely
• unqualifiedly
• mainly
• greatly
• primarily
• predominantly
• categorically
• principally
• chiefly
• more or less
• by and large
• predominately
• overall
• stone-cold
• abundantly
• generously
• hands down
• copiously
• stone

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• halfway
• partly
• partially
• just
• half
• slightly
• hardly
• barely
• scarcely
• minimally
• marginally
• somewhat
• superficially
• incompletely
• part
• roughly
• approximately
• kind of

fast

2 of 4

adjective

ˈfast 

1

as in rapid

moving, proceeding, or acting with great speed

the fast pace of construction resulted in our new house being done ahead of schedule

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rapid
• quick
• brisk
• galloping
• swift
• speedy
• lightning
• whirlwind
• hot
• hasty
• rattling
• rapid-fire
• hurried
• flying
• breathless
• splitting
• zippy
• blistering
• breakneck
• fleet
• accelerated
• snappy
• dizzy
• nippy
• expeditious
• rushed
• fleet-footed
• at speed
• strong
• ready
• prompt
• vigorous
• high-speed
• breathtaking
• quickened
• rush
• energetic
• strenuous
• ultrafast
• hastened
• ultrarapid

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slow
• sluggish
• crawling
• unhurried
• dragging
• languid
• pokey
• leisurely
• deliberate
• poky
• plodding
• laggard
• lingering
• late
• dallying
• slowish
• measured
• dilatory
• tardy
• dillydallying
• dawdling
• poking
• ultraslow

2

as in loyal

firm in one's allegiance to someone or something

the two girls soon became fast and inseparable friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

• loyal
• steadfast
• staunch
• faithful
• good
• true
• devout
• dedicated
• steady
• devoted
• constant
• pious
• reliable
• down-the-line
• dependable
• stanch
• ardent
• fervent
• solid
• passionate
• trustworthy
• responsible
• true-blue
• enthusiastic
• dutiful
• trusty
• resolute
• unhesitating
• tried
• serious
• unfaltering
• determined
• intent
• tried-and-true
• unwavering
• confirmed
• fervid
• impassioned
• avid
• sworn
• inveterate
• gung ho
• dyed-in-the-wool

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• false
• unreliable
• treacherous
• untrue
• fickle
• disloyal
• unfaithful
• inconstant
• faithless
• irresponsible
• perfidious
• traitorous
• untrustworthy
• undependable
• hesitant
• uncertain
• shaky
• faltering
• dubious
• recreant
• irresolute
• dispassionate
• uninterested
• apathetic
• wavering
• vacillating

3

as in tight

firmly positioned in place and difficult to dislodge

the rusty, old screws are so fast in the fitting that there's no hope of getting them out

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tight
• stuck
• jammed
• frozen
• glued
• firm
• embedded
• snug
• set
• lodged
• wedged
• clamped
• secured
• attached
• anchored
• bound
• bonded
• cemented
• entrenched
• fastened
• impacted
• immovable
• intrenched
• imbedded
• unyielding
• implanted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loose
• insecure
• unsecured
• detached
• unbound
• movable
• unattached
• undone
• freed
• moveable
• yielding
• loosened
• unfastened
• dislodged

4

as in deceptive

given to or marked by cheating and deception

rolling back odometers was just one of the fast practices that the used-car dealer was guilty of

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceptive
• fraudulent
• shady
• crooked
• dishonest
• sharp
• shifty
• false
• rogue
• bent
• underhand
• underhanded
• duplicitous
• artful
• guileful
• treacherous
• unscrupulous
• subtle
• slick
• cunning
• unethical
• unprincipled
• deceiving
• double-dealing
• deceitful
• unconscionable
• slippery
• tricky
• wily
• crafty
• sly
• beguiling
• delusive
• sneaky
• cagey
• foxy
• insidious
• furtive
• devious
• perfidious
• cagy
• trickish
• delusory
• deluding
• sneaking
• defrauding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straight
• honest
• ethical
• decent
• honorable
• conscientious
• just
• upright
• scrupulous
• straightforward
• aboveboard
• forthright

5

as in sturdy

marked by the ability to withstand stress without structural damage or distortion

as the storm approached, we checked to see that every thing on the outside of the house was fast and locked in position

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sturdy
• strong
• stable
• durable
• reliable
• sound
• dependable
• stalwart
• bombproof
• firm
• solid
• tough
• unbreakable
• beefy
• cohesive
• infrangible
• irrefragable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unstable
• weak
• unsteady
• rickety
• unsound
• insecure
• infirm
• shaky
• unbalanced
• wobbly
• unsubstantial
• wabbly
• tottering
• tottery

6

as in short

not lasting for a considerable time

after a fast explanation of the procedure, we were turned loose to do the work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• short
• brief
• little
• sudden
• concise
• compact
• transient
• shortened
• condensed
• abrupt
• curtailed
• abbreviated
• syncopated
• ephemeral
• succinct
• fleeting
• transitory
• abridged
• short-lived
• shortish
• momentary
• pithy
• crisp
• laconic
• terse
• short-term
• short-range
• summary
• cut-back
• epigrammatic
• impermanent
• compendious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• long
• great
• far
• lengthy
• extended
• persistent
• endless
• everlasting
• prolonged
• unending
• interminable
• permanent
• protracted
• long-drawn-out
• long-lived
• long-drawn
• longish
• enlarged
• overlong
• long-term
• long-range
• expanded
• supplemented

7

as in quick

having or showing quickness of mind

I don't know how to operate this machine, but I'm a fast learner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quick
• intelligent
• clever
• smart
• brilliant
• sharp
• exceptional
• bright
• keen
• nimble
• wise
• skilled
• educated
• alert
• quick-witted
• brainy
• ultrasmart
• supersmart
• cunning
• sharp-witted
• sensible
• resourceful
• acute
• literate
• learned
• creative
• apt
• ingenious
• reasonable
• hyperintelligent
• insightful
• savvy
• perceptive
• schooled
• astute
• prudent
• logical
• knowledgeable
• cerebral
• knowing
• trained
• heady
• sound
• scholarly
• informed
• sagacious
• judicious
• rational
• discerning
• sane
• inventive
• erudite
• perspicacious
• genial
• shrewd
• wily
• crafty
• highbrow
• sage
• sapient
• percipient
• well-read
• foxy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slow
• simple
• dense
• thick
• stupid
• dumb
• soft
• dull
• opaque
• dim
• mindless
• unintelligent
• senseless
• obtuse
• vacuous
• fatuous
• dopey
• brainless
• witless
• brain-dead
• doltish
• thickheaded
• weak-minded
• boneheaded
• lamebrain
• dorky
• dopy
• lamebrained
• silly
• foolish
• pinheaded
• softheaded
• dunderheaded
• feebleminded
• simpleminded
• idiotic
• unbrilliant
• moronic
• slow-witted
• imbecile
• unsmart
• ignorant
• dim-witted
• gormless
• imbecilic
• empty-headed
• unthinking
• uneducated
• illiterate
• airheaded
• knuckleheaded
• uninformed
• insane
• crazy
• lunkheaded
• mad
• thick-witted
• bubbleheaded
• chuckleheaded
• absurd
• unwise
• birdbrained
• half-witted
• untaught
• unintellectual
• lowbrow
• nonintellectual
• unacademic
• nutty
• preposterous
• idiotical
• nonsensical
• zany
• wacky
• fool
• cuckoo
• sappy
• lunatic
• asinine
• balmy
• loony
• whacky
• daft
• dippy
• kooky
• boobish
• daffy
• dotty
• half-baked
• harebrained
• screwball
• cockeyed
• looney
• crackpot
• featherheaded
• tomfool
• kookie

fast

3 of 4

noun

as in famine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• famine
• craving
• hunger strike
• sweet tooth
• starvation
• greed
• gluttony
• hoggishness
• malnutrition
• gourmandism
• undernourishment
• voracity
• rapacity
• stomach
• hunger
• voraciousness
• ravenousness
• famishment
• belly
• appetite
• rapaciousness
• emptiness
• munchies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• satisfaction
• fill
• fullness
• satiety
• glut
• satiation
• inappetence
• surfeit
• repletion
• repleteness

fast

4 of 4

verb

as in to diet

Synonyms & Similar Words

• diet

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stuff
• sate
• cram
• gorge
• glut
• gobble
• surfeit
• pig out
• gulp
• guzzle
• gormandize

Try This Instead

For

Try This

a fast response

a quick response

a timely response

a speedy response

a rapid response

a same-day response

a fast pace

an accelerated pace

a swift pace

a rapid pace

a quick pace

a frantic pace

a fast track

a focused track

an expeditious track

a quick track

a rapid track

an advanced track

a fast service

a quick-response service

an efficient service

a prompt service

an instant service

a timely service

a fast growth

a rapid growth

a drastic growth

a swift growth

a sharp growth

a strong growth

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective fast contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of fast are expeditious, fleet, hasty, quick, rapid, speedy, and swift. While all these words mean "moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity," fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves.

fast horses

When can expeditious be used instead of fast?

The words expeditious and fast are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

the expeditious handling of an order

When is it sensible to use fleet instead of fast?

While the synonyms fleet and fast are close in meaning, fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

fleet runners

In what contexts can hasty take the place of fast?

Although the words hasty and fast have much in common, hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

a hasty inspection

When would quick be a good substitute for fast?

In some situations, the words quick and fast are roughly equivalent. However, quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

a quick wit

When might rapid be a better fit than fast?

The meanings of rapid and fast largely overlap; however, rapid applies to the movement itself, rather than to the thing that moves.

rapid current

When is speedy a more appropriate choice than fast?

The words speedy and fast can be used in similar contexts, but speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment and may also suggest unusual velocity.

speedy delivery of mail

When could swift be used to replace fast?

While in some cases nearly identical to fast, swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

returned the ball with one swift stroke

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of fast

Adverb

With investor confidence in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path fast dwindling, the inflation data next week will be of paramount importance for a flagging market. —Sarah Min, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025

More space for air circulation allows the soil to dry faster and prevents rot from too much moisture. —Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2025

Adjective

Opponents of the rule say that could hike premiums by 40% and doesn't require new policies to be written at a fast enough pace. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2025

As is often the case with big, athletic tight ends, if a defense has someone big enough to cover him, that person usually isn’t fast enough, while anyone fast enough usually isn’t big enough. —Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2025

Noun

In a weekend full of top music stars, Ludacris, a man who knows a bit about life in the fast (and furious) lane, will headline the stage inside the T-Mobile Zone on Saturday, Nov. 23, leading up to lights out on the track. —Mark Gray, People.com, 18 Oct. 2024

Do a metabolic flip By the end of its nightly fast, a hummingbird has nearly depleted its sugar stores—which poses an opposite metabolic challenge. —Bob Holmes, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024

Verb

The end of November is marked by Christmas carols and Black Friday shopping deals, but before anyone can fast forward to December, the holiday holding the line between Halloween candy and stocking stuffers is Thanksgiving. —John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 26 Nov. 2024

Once the Halloween season has past, some people are ready to fast forward to December and embrace the winter holidays and festive spirit − just ask Mariah Carey. —Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 20 Nov. 2024