Apace Meaning
/əˈpeɪs/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advQuickly, rapidly, with speed.
Sentence Examples
Ill news comes apace.
Speculation is growing apace.
The thaw is continuing apace. The sun has melted the frost from the windows.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The construction of the new bridge must proceed ____ to meet the deadline.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The construction of the new school is moving ____ to meet its deadline.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English apās (“step by step, slowly; quickly, rapidly; at once, promptly”), from Old French à pas (“at a quick pace”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Gallop apace, you fiery footed ſteedes, / Towards Phœbus lodging, ſuch a Wagoner / As Phaeton would whip you to the weſt, / And bring in Cloudie night immediately."
— c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 65:
"Ow faire Hippolita, our nuptiall houre / Drawes on apace: foure happy daies bring in / Another Moon[…]"
— c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 145:
"The process which, if not checked, will abolish Man, goes on apace among Communists and Democrats no less than among Fascists. […] Once we killed bad men: now we liquidate unsocial elements."
— 1943, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, “The Abolition of Man”, in The Abolition of Man […], New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published 1947, →OCLC, page 46:
"Twilight was coming on apace and a star or two was already out, but the remains of the sunset could still be seen in the west."
— 1954, C. S. Lewis, chapter 1, in The Horse and His Boy, Collins, published 1998:
"On the three major railway systems of Ireland, changeover to diesel traction has continued apace during the past year."
— 1958 May 26, “Diesel Railcars for Ireland”, in Railway Magazine, page 351:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The construction of the new bridge must proceed ____ to meet the deadline.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The construction of the new school is moving ____ to meet its deadline.