celerity
suh-LEH-ruh-tee
/səˈlerəti/
Swiftness of movement.
A very formal, high-level word often used to describe the speed with which a task is completed.
The story behind the word. Directly from the Latin 'celeritas'. It was a favorite word of Roman historians to describe the lightning-fast marches of Julius Caesar.
Word relationships
- alacrity: Alacrity implies cheerful readiness + speed; celerity is just the speed itself.
- slowness: Slowness is the simple opposite of celerity's swiftness.
Commonly confused with
- velocity: Velocity is for objects/physics; celerity is for actions/people.
Collocations
- great celerity
- unusual celerity
- move with celerity
Example sentences
- "The army moved with such celerity that the enemy was caught completely off guard." Historical praise.
- "Justice must be administered with celerity to be effective." Legal context.
Memory hook
Celerity sounds like 'accelerate'—it’s the noun form of that feeling of speed. Celerity = Celebrity-level speed.
When not to use
Never use this in casual speech; it will sound pretentious. Use 'speed' or 'swiftness' instead.
Fun facts
- Benjamin Franklin once wrote about the 'celerity' of the mail service in his day.
Related words
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