alacrity
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Coined between 1500 and 1510 from Latin alacritās,[1] from alacer (“brisk”) + -itas (“-ity”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
alacrity (plural alacrities)
- Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.
- 1837, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, ch. 12:
- "I'll get into the clothes this minute, if they're here," said Sam, with great alacrity.
- 1922, Edith Wharton, The Glimpses of the Moon, ch. 24:
- This evening, however, he was struck by the beaming alacrity of the aide-de-camp's greeting.
- 1837, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, ch. 12:
- Promptness; speed.
- 1849, Henry David Thoreau, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience":
- Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way.
- 1902, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Part 1:
- He had a uniform jacket with one button off, and seeing a white man on the path, hoisted his weapon to his shoulder with alacrity.
- 1849, Henry David Thoreau, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience":
[edit] Synonyms
- (eagerness): avidity, eagerness, enthusiasm, willingness
- (promptness): briskness, celerity, haste, promptness, quickness, swiftness
[edit] Antonyms
- (eagerness): apathy, disinclination, hesitance, indifference, reluctance
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
eagerness
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promptness
