Meteoric

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌmiːtiˈɒɹɪk/

Definitions

1. A rapid and brilliant rise or ascent, typically followed by an equally swift decline, like a shooting star blazing across the night sky
2. Pertaining to phenomena of meteors entering the Earth's atmosphere ; describing a very quick and spectacular progress or success
3. Connected with the bright streaks of light caused by space debris burning up ; used for something that grows or improves very suddenly and impressively

Etymology: Meteor itself comes from Greek "meteoros," meaning "high in the air" or "raised from the ground," built from "meta" (above) and "eora" (suspended). So the word's core idea is simply something hanging up in the sky, and the sense of a streak of light was attached to it later. The adjective "meteoric" is a plain English formation: "meteor" with the suffix "-ic," which came into English through Latin "-icus" and Old French "-ique," and which means "pertaining to" or "having the character of." That is why "meteoric" can mean either the literal thing or a figure of speech. Its first and most straightforward sense concerns meteors as phenomena entering the Earth's atmosphere. The figurative sense, a career or success that rises and flares with dazzling speed, follows naturally from the streak of light a meteor leaves across the sky, which burns brightly and vanishes almost at once.

Synonyms: swift, rapid, brilliant, transient, temporary

Antonyms: slow, permanent, lasting, gradual, steady