hasten

American  

[hey-suhn] / ˈheɪ sən /

verb (used without object)

hastens, present (3rd person singular) hastened, past participle, past hastening present participle

1. to move or act with haste; proceed with haste; hurry.

   to hasten to a place.

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verb (used with object)

hastens, present (3rd person singular) hastened, past participle, past hastening present participle

1. to cause to hasten; accelerate.

   to hasten someone from a room; to hasten the arrival of a happier time.

   Synonyms:

   precipitate, speed, quicken, expedite, press, urge

hasten British  

/ ˈheɪsən /

verb

1. (may take an infinitive) to hurry or cause to hurry; rush

2. (tr) to be anxious (to say something)

   I hasten to add that we are just good friends

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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

• hastener
  noun
• overhasten
  verb
• unhastened
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hastening
  present
• hastened
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hasten
  simple
• hastens
  simple
• have hastened
  perfect
• has hastened
  perfect
• am hastening
  progressive
• are hastening
  progressive
• is hastening
  progressive
• have been hastening
  perfect progressive
• has been hastening
  perfect progressive

Past

• hastened
  simple
• had hastened
  perfect
• was hastening
  progressive
• were hastening
  progressive
• had been hastening
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hasten
  simple
• will have hastened
  perfect
• will be hastening
  progressive
• will have been hastening
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hasten

First recorded in 1565–75; haste + -en ¹

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.

Example Sentences

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

To hasten production, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the agency was exploring innovations to improve sterile fly production efficiency, including offering $100 million in grants to private-sector partners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 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

But, while Fernandes and Lewis-Skelly are different types of midfielders, the latter's emergence may hasten a change in approach.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

“Let your spirit ask Chukwu to hasten my promotion to senior lecturer, that is all I ask,” Aunty Ifeoma said.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• accelerate
• expedite
• precipitate
• quicken
• step up
• urge