precipitated

[pri-sip-i-tey-tid]

adjective

1. having been brought on suddenly or prematurely.

   Pressure on the tender spot causes the patient to physically react to the precipitated pain by exclaiming or moving.

   Operators are requesting compensation for losses incurred due to the precipitated shutdown of reactors after the accident.

2. Chemistry.,  (of solid material) having been separated from a solution, such as by evaporation or through the use of a reagent.

   You can tell the reaction is complete from the purple color of the precipitated sodium chloride.

   The precipitated salts give the dry lake bed a white color resembling a beach.

3. Meteorology.,  having fallen as rain, snow, hail, etc..

   Most of the precipitated water moves along these defined channels before being discharged into streams.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of precipitate.

Other Word Forms

• unprecipitated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of precipitated¹

precipitate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

No details about what precipitated the incident were released.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A spat over seagulls, of all things, and whether the government would postpone a planned summit or make a statement in the chamber about it, precipitated some sharp exchanges between Hepburn and Ross.

Read more on BBC

L.A.’s nonchalant highhandedness can gall today as it did 101 years ago when it precipitated what secessionists hailed as the “day of deliverance” from the “imperial county.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Such developments, coupled with growing public outrage, seem to have precipitated a change of tone from the Australian government.

Read more on BBC

And yet I was afraid to bring up the topic of marriage in case the answer precipitated one more casualty in my portfolio of failed romances.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accelerate 
• expedite 
• hasten 
• trigger