hasten
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(may take an infinitive) to hurry or cause to hurry; rush
-
(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
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.
His mission: to use a free press to shine a spotlight on government abuses and hasten the end of communism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
The severity of seemingly mundane, everyday anxieties — school bullies, the prom, graduation, obnoxious Cher-obsessed college roommates — is on par with demons trying to hasten the apocalypse.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
The German government just approved a list of measures to cut red tape that should hasten deployment.
From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025
Will it hasten departure of President Nicolas Maduro?
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025
Carrying Hamlet in his basket, I hasten to Therese’s room, where the three Marys are gathered.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
