alacrity

[ uh-lak-ri-tee ]
See synonyms for: alacrityalacritiesalacritous on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.

  2. liveliness; briskness.

Origin of alacrity

1
First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin alacritāt-, stem of alacritās “enthusiasm, zeal,” equivalent to alacer + -tās- noun suffix (see -ty2)

Other words for alacrity

Other words from alacrity

  • a·lac·ri·tous, adjective
  • un·a·lac·ri·tous, adjective

Words Nearby alacrity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use alacrity in a sentence

  • "Capital, capital," his lordship would remark with great alacrity, when there was no other way of escape.

  • Anselme, thus enjoined, lent an unwonted alacrity to his movements, waddling grotesquely like a hastening waterfowl.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • Bernard, professing great alacrity, looked about him; but he still lingered near his companions.

    Confidence | Henry James
  • This result comes only to those who carry out all the directions with genuine alacrity—not shirking one of them.

    Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
  • The quadroon was following them with little quick steps, having assumed a fictitious animation and alacrity for the occasion.

British Dictionary definitions for alacrity

alacrity

/ (əˈlækrɪtɪ) /


noun
  1. liveliness or briskness

Origin of alacrity

1
C15: from Latin alacritās, from alacer lively

Derived forms of alacrity

  • alacritous, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012