hasten
Americanverb (used without object)
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hastens,
present (3rd person singular)
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hastened,
past participle, past
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hastening
present participle
verb (used with object)
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hastens,
present (3rd person singular)
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hastened,
past participle, past
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hastening
present participle
verb
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(may take an infinitive) to hurry or cause to hurry; rush
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(tr) to be anxious (to say something)
I hasten to add that we are just good friends
Usage
What does hasten mean? Hasten means to go faster or cause to go faster. Hasten often sounds a bit formal. More informal phrases like speed up and hurry up can be used to mean the same thing and are more commonly used. Hasten is often used in the context of saying that efforts to achieve some kind of goal need to be accelerated (done faster), as in We need to hasten our efforts to address climate change. To hasten something’s demise is to make it fail more quickly. The related noun haste most commonly refers to urgency, such as in completing a task. It can also be used as another word for speed or swiftness, as in We have to move with haste if we want to make it on time. The phrase make haste means to move quickly, hurry up, or rush. Example: This report highlights the fact that we need to hasten our efforts to eradicate this disease.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hastensimple
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hastenssimple
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have hastenedperfect
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has hastenedperfect
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am hasteningprogressive
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are hasteningprogressive
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is hasteningprogressive
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have been hasteningperfect progressive
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has been hasteningperfect progressive
Past
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hastenedsimple
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had hastenedperfect
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was hasteningprogressive
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were hasteningprogressive
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had been hasteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hasten
Explanation
The verb hasten means to move at a high speed. If you hasten to your room, no one will know that you came in late. Hasten comes from the word haste, which means "excessive speed or urgency." The words hurry and hasten are synonyms. Hasten can also mean "to make happen quickly," like when you open a window in the kitchen when you are cooking to hasten the room's cooling down. Hasten also means "to be quick," like when you hasten to tell everyone that the rumor going around about you isn't true.
Vocabulary lists containing hasten
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He believes it will take three to fours years before the vegetation recovers, adding: "It will be a long, long road and there is not a lot we can do hasten that recovery."
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
That transition is still a long way off, but war, as unwelcome and unnerving as it is, may actually hasten its arrival.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
A team of strategists at Deutsche Bank outlined 10 factors that, according to them, helped hasten the U.S.’s rise to a preeminent global power from a small country at the time of its founding.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
If the U.S. government gets early access to the most advanced models, this could hasten the trend.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
And Shelob cowed at last, shrunken in defeat, jerked and quivered as she tried to hasten from him.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Willow, pregnant and officially on maternity leave, hastens to assist him in sifting through suspects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Many, even most divorced men are not like this, he hastens to add.
From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2024
Though the initial responses in preclinical tumor models to the inhibitor were impressive, Olive hastens to point out that the tumors were not eliminated.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2024
Ms Kaechele says she is amused - but not surprised - by the men who are genuinely upset, though she hastens to add that Mr Lau has been pleasant and impressive.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2024
“Gurgi hastens to obey, mighty lord. He will say no more, not even whisperings of what he saw. No, he will not disturb the sleepings of powerful heroes. See how he leaves, with tearful farewells.”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
A full-size replica of a Spanish galleon stares out into Manila Bay, the centrepiece of a museum that will transport visitors back to the 17th century, when conscripted Philippine mariners hastened the era of globalisation.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
That sparked a national outcry and hastened the end of the lockout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
Natural gas from shale hastened the demise of coal, and China’s solar manufacturing build-out slashed the cost of panels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2025
Hatton later admitted that result hastened the spiral downwards.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025
“That I will, Adèle;” and I hastened away with her, glad to quit my gloomy monitress.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
However, repealing the earnings test would likely lead to more people claiming Social Security early, hastening the system’s impending insolvency.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
In the letter, Carr also warned that the FCC would be monitoring Disney’s affiliate-station negotiations and agreements; with this week’s early request, he appears to be hastening that scrutinizing process.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026
Officials have indicated it would take some time before the economic impact of the war can be judged, and that hastening to make a call would be a mistake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
As developments in the Middle East remained in focus over the weekend, President Donald Trump quietly signed a directive hastening the review of certain psychedelic drugs.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
He could see little, for the rising mists swirled above the turf, and he made out only shadow shapes hastening back and forth.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
