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
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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:
If that’s true, may Workman’s sweet, intoxicating humor hasten its arrival.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
That doesn’t mean the market won’t crash, I hasten to add.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
He believes it will take three to fours years before the vegetation recovers, adding: "It will be a long, long road and there is not a lot we can do hasten that recovery."
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
That transition is still a long way off, but war, as unwelcome and unnerving as it is, may actually hasten its arrival.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
But as many will hasten to emphasize, it is not just the big elections that matter.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Her confidante immediately hastens off to write “The Tears of the Comet,” an allegorical tale that decorously recasts certain incidents from his stay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
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
Mother hastens upstairs to help the busy little housewife, and I tidy up both the bathroom and myself at the same time.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
As explained above, the complaint here merely hastened the defendants’ first court appearance.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
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
Those plans had already been in the works, but when Messi signed with Inter Miami, they were hastened, said Leandro Petersen, the AFA’s chief commercial and marketing officer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
She had also had a cryptococcus infection - which is often linked to pigeon droppings - which her family believe hastened her decline and may have limited her treatment options.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
It was so exposed where he stood that he felt genuinely afraid, and he hastened to the other side and into the shelter of the priory walls.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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
However, repealing the earnings test would likely lead to more people claiming Social Security early, hastening the system’s impending insolvency.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 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
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
