agility

Word relationships

• nimbleness: 'Nimbleness' often refers to light, quick movement of the feet or fingers, while 'agility' is more athletic.

• sluggishness: Sluggishness implies a slow, heavy, and unresponsive state.

Commonly confused with

• flexibility: Flexibility refers to the range of motion in joints, while agility refers to the speed of movement.

Word family

• agile (adjective): Able to move quickly and easily.
• agilely (adverb): Moving in an agile manner.

Collocations

• mental agility
• lateral agility
• exceptional agility

Example sentences

• "Agility is the ability to change direction without losing balance." Physical training
• "Her lateral agility allowed her to cover the entire baseline with just a few steps." Athlete profile

Memory hook

Think of a 'Gilly' (a fish's gill)—fish are incredibly agile in water. Quick to move, quick to groove.

When not to use

Do not use 'agility' when you simply mean 'speed' in a straight line.

Fun facts

• Agility is often measured in athletes using the 'shuttle run' or 'Illinois agility test.'

Related words

reflex, footwork, endurance

Explore more words

agile, fleet, swift, adaptability, maneuver, flexibility

Also appears in

• Leadership → Adaptability in Crisis
• Business → Corporate Culture
• Engineering & Industrial Design → Supply Chain Engineering
• Sports, Athletics & Recreation → Combat Sports & Martial Arts
• Sports, Athletics & Recreation → Winter & Ice Sports
• Sports, Athletics & Recreation → Gymnastics & Acrobatics
• Pets & Animals (Domestic) → Animal Training & Behavior