hasten
OTHER WORDS FOR hasten
OTHER WORDS FROM hasten
has·ten·er, nounouthasten, verb (used with object)o·ver·has·ten, verbun·has·tened, adjectiveWords nearby hasten
VOCAB BUILDER
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.
Where does hasten come from?
The first records of the word hasten come from around 1570. It’s a combination of the noun haste and the suffix -en, which is used to form verbs from nouns (as in heighten and lengthen).
Most of the time, the noun haste implies that something was simply done too fast, leading to mistakes. Hasten, though, does not imply this. It’s typically used in the context of speeding up work on a task in order to get it done.
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How is hasten used in real life?
Hasten is less commonly used than more informal terms like speed up.
The cycle of violence at #RikersIsland must end. We need to hasten efforts to close this dangerous facility and transition to more modern and humane facilities.⁰https://t.co/1A1jTQiM2P
— Joe Crowley (@JoeCrowleyNY) December 15, 2017
🌍🌞A global group of accomplished scientists, including Prof Francois Engelbrecht from Wits University, have called on world leaders to hasten efforts to tackle #climatechange. Prof Engelbrecht led the analysis that identified climate change hot spots.#ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/wHiaDA304M
— Wits University (@WitsUniversity) September 20, 2019
Your daily reminder: our intricate planetary biome needs us to protect it, not hasten its demise.#science #environment #biology https://t.co/WPzshxerzQ
— Jess Phoenix 🌋 (@jessphoenix2018) May 26, 2019
Try using hasten!
Which of the following terms is NOT a synonym of hasten?
A. speed up
B. hurry up
C. slow down
D. accelerate