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View synonyms for make haste

make haste



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Idioms and Phrases

Also, make it snappy . Hurry up, move or act quickly, as in If you don't make haste we'll be late , or Make it snappy, kids . The first expression was first recorded in Miles Coverdale's 1535 translation of the Bible (Psalms 39:13): “Make haste, O Lord, to help me.” The variant dates from the early 1900s and uses snappy in the sense of “resembling a sudden jerk.” The oxymoron make haste slowly , dating from the mid-1700s, is a translation of the Latin festina lente . It is used either ironically, to slow someone down (as in You'll do better if you make haste slowly ), or to comment sarcastically on a lack of progress (as in So far the committee has been making haste slowly ).
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Example Sentences

Herold, impatient, hissed at him, “Lloyd, for God’s sake, make haste and get those things.”

Then it will turn west and make haste: “We’re gonna gun it for the delta,” Stack Morgan says.

As she headed back to the warehouse, her dispatcher encouraged her to make haste to beat the tornado, she said.

Unless Congress takes action, millions of Americans will receive their final payments this month, a possibility that prompted some lawmakers on Monday to call on the Senate to make haste.

“We can’t, for something has been said, and Laurie’s mischief has spoiled you for me. I see it, and so does Mother. You are not like your old self a bit, and seem ever so far away from me. I don’t mean to plague you and will bear it like a man, but I do wish it was all settled. I hate to wait, so if you mean ever to do it, make haste and have it over quickly,” said Jo pettishly.

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More About Make Haste

What does make haste mean?

Make haste means to move quickly, hurry up, or rush.

In make haste, the word haste means speed or swiftness. It can also mean speed or urgency that is careless, and this is how the word is used in the expression haste makes waste, which means that rushing things leads to mistakes.

However, make haste doesn’t usually imply this—it usually just implies speed or urgency.

Make haste can sound old-fashioned, like the kind of thing you might hear a medieval knight say in a movie. Today, it’s much more common to say things like hurry up or move quickly.

The verb hasten typically means to speed something up, as in We need to hasten our efforts.

Example: We have to make haste if we don’t want to be late.

Where does make haste come from?

The first record of the phrase make haste come around the 1500s. One of the first records comes from a 1535 translation of the Bible, in a verse from Psalms 39: “Make haste, O Lord, to help me.”

The contradictory phrase make haste slowly has been used since around the mid-1700s. It is often used in an ironic way, to advise someone to slow down, or to criticize a lack of progress. It should not be confused with the phrase hurry up and wait, which means to move quickly and then have to wait for someone or something.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to make haste?

  • makes haste (present tense verb)
  • made haste (past tense verb)
  • making haste (continuous tense verb)

What are some synonyms for make haste?

  • hurry
  • hurry up
  • move quickly
  • move fast

What are some words that share a root or word element with make haste

What are some words that often get used in discussing make haste?

How is make haste used in real life?

Make haste is usually used in the context of someone hurrying to do something. It can sound old-fashioned.

 

Try using make haste!

Which of the following terms is a synonym of make haste?

A. hurry up
B. move fast
C. move quickly
D. all of the above

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.

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