Difference Wiki

Fast vs. Slow

Fast and Slow Definitions

Fast

Acting, moving, or capable of acting or moving quickly; swift.

Slow

Marked by a retarded tempo
A slow waltz.

Fast

Acquired quickly with little effort and sometimes unscrupulously
Made a fast buck scalping tickets.

Slow

Not moving or able to move quickly; proceeding at a low speed
A slow train.
Slow walkers.

Fast

Accomplished in relatively little time
A fast visit.

Slow

Taking or requiring a long time
The slow job of making bread.
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Fast

Quick to understand or learn; mentally agile
A class for the faster students.

Slow

Taking more time than is usual
A slow worker.
Slow progress in the peace negotiations.

Fast

Indicating a time somewhat ahead of the actual time
The clock is fast.

Slow

Allowing movement or action only at a low speed
A slow track.
A slow infield.

Fast

Allowing rapid movement or action
A fast running track.

Slow

Registering a time or rate behind or below the correct one
A slow clock.
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Fast

Designed for or compatible with a short exposure time
Fast film.

Slow

Lacking in promptness or willingness; not precipitate
They were slow to accept our invitation.

Fast

Disposed to dissipation; wild
Ran with a fast crowd.

Slow

Characterized by a low volume of sales or transactions
Business was slow today.

Fast

Flouting conventional moral standards; sexually promiscuous.

Slow

Lacking liveliness or interest; boring
A slow party.
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Fast

Resistant, as to destruction or fading
Fast colors.

Slow

Not having or exhibiting intellectual or mental quickness
A slow learner.

Fast

Firmly fixed or fastened
A fast grip.

Slow

Only moderately warm; low
A slow oven.

Fast

Fixed firmly in place; secure
Shutters that are fast against the rain.

Slow

So as to fall behind the correct time or rate
The watch runs slow.

Fast

Lasting; permanent
Fast rules and regulations.

Slow

At a low speed
Go slow!.

Fast

Deep; sound
In a fast sleep.

Slow

To make slow or slower.

Fast

In a secure manner; tightly
Hold fast.

Slow

To delay; retard.

Fast

To a sound degree; deeply
Fast asleep.

Slow

To become slow or slower.

Fast

In a rapid manner; quickly.

Slow

Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
A slow train;
A slow computer

Fast

In quick succession
New ideas followed fast.

Slow

Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.

Fast

Ahead of the correct or expected time
A watch that runs fast.

Slow

Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.

Fast

In a dissipated, immoderate way
Living fast.

Slow

Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.

Fast

(Archaic) Close by; near.

Slow

(of a clock or the like) Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
That clock is slow.

Fast

To abstain from food.

Slow

Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.

Fast

To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.

Slow

(of a period of time) Not busy; lacking activity.
It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier.
I'm just sitting here with a desk of cards, enjoying a slow afternoon.

Fast

The act or practice of abstaining from or eating very little food.

Slow

(transitive) To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
Slow the process

Fast

A period of such abstention or self-denial.

Slow

(transitive) To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
Slow the traffic

Fast

(dated) Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable.
That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!

Slow

(intransitive) To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.

Fast

Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.

Slow

Someone who is slow; a sluggard.

Fast

(of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).)

Slow

(music) A slow song.

Fast

Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid.
I am going to buy a fast car.

Slow

Slowly.
That clock is running slow.
I want to dance with you nice and slow

Fast

Having a kinetic energy between 1 million and 20 million electron volts; often used to describe the energy state of free neutrons at the moment of their release by a nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reaction (i.e., before the neutrons have been slowed down by anything).
Plutonium-240 has a much higher fission cross-section for fast neutrons than for thermal neutrons.

Slow

Slew.

Fast

Of a place, characterised by business, hustle and bustle, etc.

Slow

Moving a short space in a relatively long time; not swift; not quick in motion; not rapid; moderate; deliberate; as, a slow stream; a slow motion.

Fast

Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.
A fast racket, or tennis court
A fast track
A fast billiard table
A fast dance floor

Slow

Not happening in a short time; gradual; late.
These changes in the heavens, though slow, producedLike change on sea and land, sidereal blast.

Fast

Able to transfer data in a short period of time.

Slow

Not ready; not prompt or quick; dilatory; sluggish; as, slow of speech, and slow of tongue.
Fixed on defense, the Trojans are not slowTo guard their shore from an expected foe.

Fast

Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people).

Slow

Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation; tardy; inactive.
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.

Fast

(of dyes or colours) Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent.
All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast.

Slow

Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time; as, the clock or watch is slow.

Fast

(obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.

Slow

Not advancing or improving rapidly; as, the slow growth of arts and sciences.

Fast

(dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.
A fast woman

Slow

Heavy in wit; not alert, prompt, or spirited; wearisome; dull.

Fast

Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.

Slow

Slowly.
Let him have time to mark how slow time goesIn time of sorrow.

Fast

(of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average.

Slow

To render slow; to slacken the speed of; to retard; to delay; as, to slow a steamer.

Fast

In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved; safe, sound .
Hold this rope as fast as you can.

Slow

To go slower; - often with up; as, the train slowed up before crossing the bridge.

Fast

(of sleeping) Deeply or soundly .
He is fast asleep.

Slow

A moth.

Fast

Immediately following in place or time; close, very near .
The horsemen came fast on our heels.
Fast by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped. / That ain't my style, said Casey. Strike one, the umpire said.

Slow

Lose velocity; move more slowly;
The car decelerated

Fast

Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .
Do it as fast as you can.

Slow

Become slow or slower;
Production slowed

Fast

Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
I think my watch is running fast.

Slow

Cause to proceed more slowly;
The illness slowed him down

Fast

A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations

Slow

Not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time;
A slow walker
The slow lane of traffic
Her steps were slow
He was slow in reacting to the news
Slow but steady growth

Fast

The act or practice of fasting, religious abstinence from food

Slow

At a slow tempo;
The band played a slow waltz

Fast

One of the fasting periods in the liturgical year

Slow

Slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity;
So dense he never understands anything I say to him
Never met anyone quite so dim
Although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick
Dumb officials make some really dumb decisions
He was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse
Worked with the slow students

Fast

(archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target

Slow

(used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the correct time;
The clock is slow

Fast

(intransitive) To practice religious abstinence, especially from food.

Slow

So lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness;
A boring evening with uninteresting people
The deadening effect of some routine tasks
A dull play
His competent but dull performance
A ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention
What an irksome task the writing of long letters is
Tedious days on the train
The tiresome chirping of a cricket
Other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome

Fast

To reduce or limit one's nutrition intake for medical or health reasons, to diet.

Slow

(of business) not active or brisk;
Business is dull (or slow)
A sluggish market

Fast

To abstain from food; to omit to take nourishment in whole or in part; to go hungry.
Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked.

Slow

Without speed (`slow' is sometimes used informally for `slowly');
He spoke slowly
Go easy here--the road is slippery
Glaciers move tardily
Please go slow so I can see the sights

Fast

To practice abstinence as a religious exercise or duty; to abstain from food voluntarily for a time, for the mortification of the body or appetites, or as a token of grief, or humiliation and penitence.
Thou didst fast and weep for the child.

Slow

Of timepieces;
The clock is almost an hour slow
My watch is running behind

Fast

Abstinence from food; omission to take nourishment.
Surfeit is the father of much fast.

Fast

Voluntary abstinence from food, for a space of time, as a spiritual discipline, or as a token of religious humiliation.

Fast

A time of fasting, whether a day, week, or longer time; a period of abstinence from food or certain kinds of food; as, an annual fast.

Fast

That which fastens or holds; especially, (Naut.) a mooring rope, hawser, or chain; - called, according to its position, a bow, head, quarter, breast, or stern fast; also, a post on a pier around which hawsers are passed in mooring.

Fast

Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door.
There is an order that keeps things fast.

Fast

Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places.

Fast

Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend.

Fast

Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colors.

Fast

Tenacious; retentive.
Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.

Fast

Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.
All this while in a most fast sleep.

Fast

Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse.

Fast

Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver.

Fast

In such a condition, as to resilience, etc., as to make possible unusual rapidity of play or action; as, a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table, etc.

Fast

In a fast, fixed, or firmly established manner; fixedly; firmly; immovably.
We will bind thee fast.

Fast

In a fast or rapid manner; quickly; swiftly; extravagantly; wildly; as, to run fast; to live fast.
He, after Eve seduced, unminded slunkInto the wood fast by.
Fast by the throne obsequious Fame resides.

Fast

Abstaining from food

Fast

Abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons;
Catholics sometimes fast during Lent

Fast

Abstain from eating;
Before the medical exam, you must fast

Fast

Acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly;
Fast film
On the fast track in school
Set a fast pace
A fast car

Fast

(used of timepieces) indicating a time ahead of or later than the correct time;
My watch is fast

Fast

At a rapid tempo;
The band played a fast fox trot

Fast

(of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds;
A fast road
Grass courts are faster than clay

Fast

Firmly fastened or secured against opening;
Windows and doors were all fast
A locked closet
Left the house properly secured

Fast

Resistant to destruction or fading;
Fast colors

Fast

Unrestrained by convention or morality;
Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society
Deplorably dissipated and degraded
Riotous living
Fast women

Fast

Hurried and brief;
Paid a flying visit
Took a flying glance at the book
A quick inspection
A fast visit

Fast

Securely fixed in place;
The post was still firm after being hit by the car

Fast

Unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause;
A firm ally
Loyal supporters
The true-hearted soldier...of Tippecanoe
Fast friends

Fast

Quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form);
How fast can he get here?
Ran as fast as he could
Needs medical help fast
Fast-running rivers
Fast-breaking news
Fast-opening (or fast-closing) shutters

Fast

Firmly or tightly;
Held fast to the rope
Her foot was stuck fast
Held tight

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