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:
And it could hasten those calling for reform of Parliament's second chamber.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Many in the founding era expected the shutting-off of the African trade to hasten slavery’s extinction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 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
Lestat is slightly bored with existing yet curious to see whether his music, primarily plied on the Internet, can reach enough undead followers to hasten the vampire apocalypse known as The Great Conversion.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
It was rumored that he was as skilled now as the Rehabilitation Directors themselves, and that he had even developed some machines and methods to hasten rehabilitation.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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
This hastened Hollywood Heritage’s effort to secure monument status and preserve the 1905 home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026
Cummins was in danger of missing the series because of a back injury but hastened his rehabilitation to return in Adelaide.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025
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
They hastened up the last slope, and stood breathless beside her.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The worsening security backdrop is hastening a Japanese defense buildup championed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
“If I were an investigator, I would look for a pattern of trades in markets like Kalshi and Polymarket,” Levitt said, hastening to add that there is no evidence of that at the moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 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
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
They had not, as far as Taran could tell, stopped hastening westward, and Dark Gate lay some distance behind them, though its peaks no longer could be seen.
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.
