fasting

fast ¹  (fst)

adj. fast·er, fast·est

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

2.

a. Accomplished in relatively little time: a fast visit.

b. Acquired quickly with little effort and sometimes unscrupulously: made a fast buck scalping tickets.

3. Quick to understand or learn; mentally agile: a class for the faster students.

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

5. Allowing rapid movement or action: a fast running track.

6. Designed for or compatible with a short exposure time: fast film.

7.

a. Disposed to dissipation; wild: ran with a fast crowd.

b. Flouting conventional moral standards; sexually promiscuous.

8. Resistant, as to destruction or fading: fast colors.

9. Firmly fixed or fastened: a fast grip.

10. Fixed firmly in place; secure: shutters that are fast against the rain.

11. Firm in loyalty: fast friends.

12. Lasting; permanent: fast rules and regulations.

13. Deep; sound: in a fast sleep.

adv. faster, fastest

1. In a secure manner; tightly: hold fast.

2. To a sound degree; deeply: fast asleep.

3. In a rapid manner; quickly.

4. In quick succession: New ideas followed fast.

5. Ahead of the correct or expected time: a watch that runs fast.

6. In a dissipated, immoderate way: living fast.

7. Archaic Close by; near.

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[Middle English, from Old English fæst, firm, fixed; see past- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: fast¹, rapid, swift, fleet², speedy, quick, hasty, expeditious
These adjectives refer to something marked by great speed. Fast and rapid are often used interchangeably, though fast is more often applied to the person or thing in motion, and rapid, to the activity or movement involved: a fast runner; rapid strides.
Swift suggests smoothness and sureness of movement (a swift current), and fleet, lightness of movement (The cheetah is the fleetest of animals). Speedy refers to velocity (a speedy train) or to promptness or hurry (a speedy resolution to the problem). Quick most often applies to what takes little time or to what is prompt: a quick snack; your quick reaction.
Hasty implies hurried action (a hasty visit) and often a lack of care or thought (regretted the hasty decision). Expeditious suggests rapid efficiency: sent the package by the most expeditious means. See Also Synonyms at faithful.

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fast ²  (fst)

intr.v. fast·ed, fast·ing, fasts

1. To abstain from food.

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

n.

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

2. A period of such abstention or self-denial.

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[Middle English fasten, from Old English fæstan; see past- in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

fasting - abstaining from food                 fast abstinence - act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite dieting, diet - the act of restricting your food intake (or your intake of particular foods) hunger strike - a voluntary fast undertaken as a means of protest Ramadan - (Islam) a fast (held from sunrise to sunset) that is carried out during the Islamic month of Ramadan