quicken

[ kwik-uhn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to make more rapid; accelerate; hasten:

   She quickened her pace.

2. to give or restore vigor or activity to; stir up, rouse, or stimulate:

   to quicken the imagination.

   Synonyms: enliven, vitalize, animate

3. to revive; restore life to:

   The spring rains quickened the earth.

   Synonyms: vivify

verb (used without object)

1. to become more active, sensitive, etc.:

   This drug causes the pulse to quicken.

2. to become alive; receive life.
3. (of the mother) to enter that stage of pregnancy in which the fetus gives indications of life.
4. (of a fetus in the womb) to begin to manifest signs of life.

quicken

/ ˈkwɪkən /

verb

1. to make or become faster; accelerate

   he quickened his walk

   her heartbeat quickened with excitement

2. to impart to or receive vigour, enthusiasm, etc; stimulate or be stimulated

   science quickens man's imagination

3. to make or become alive; revive
4. 1. (of an unborn fetus) to begin to show signs of life
   2. (of a pregnant woman) to reach the stage of pregnancy at which movements of the fetus can be felt

Other Words From

• quicken·er noun
• re·quicken verb
• un·quickened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of quicken¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, quicken is from the Middle English word quikenen. See quick, -en ¹

Example Sentences

More recently, researchers have correlated a quickening economic pulse in Iceland with years that had above-average temperatures, just as suffocating heat waves in the global South have tempered growth.

From ProPublica

To that end, he floated the possibility of appointing more “judges with some expertise in the field” to quicken the pace at which cases proceed.

From Fortune

That quickens their release of carbon back into the air — which is disappointing news for global warming.

From Science News For Students

In the hours that followed, the pace of job cuts at some of the world’s biggest companies — across in a range of industries from energy to finance — quickened.

From Fortune

When the pace quickened, I was terrible about setting boundaries between my work and home lives.

From Fortune

Quicken Loans moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010, and has invested a billion dollars in the years since.

From The Daily Beast

Even Judy's appeals to "try and remember about Bombay" failed to quicken him.

From Project Gutenberg

The man did not live, nor could the occasion arrive, which would quicken his constitutional drawl.

From Project Gutenberg

The monk's eyes seemed to quicken, as though his interest in the outer world had suddenly revived.

From Project Gutenberg

I put the strongest in the rear, with orders to quicken the pace of the sluggards with the points of their bayonets in the back.

From Project Gutenberg

One wave will be mowed down and another will quicken the pace a trifle and take its place.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accelerate
• expedite
• hasten
• promote
• revitalize
• revive
• spur
• step up
• stimulate
• strengthen