hasty

adjective

ˈhā-stē 

hastier; hastiest

1

a

: done or made in a hurry

hasty city-street snapshots

—R. B. Heilman

b

: fast and typically superficial

made a hasty examination of the wound

c

archaic : rapid in action or movement : speedy

2

: acting too quickly : overly eager or impatient

realized he had been hasty in quitting his job

3

: exhibiting a lack of careful thought or consideration : precipitate, rash

We don't want to make any hasty decisions.

4

: prone to anger : irritable

a hasty temperament

hastiness noun

Synonyms

• hurried
• rushed
• impulsive
• overhasty
• rash
• reckless
• cursory
• sudden

Choose the Right Synonym for hasty

fast, rapid, swift, fleet, quick, speedy, hasty, expeditious mean moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity.

fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves

fast horses

and rapid to the movement itself.

rapid current

swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

returned the ball with one swift stroke

fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

fleet runners

quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

a quick wit

speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment

speedy delivery of mail

and may also suggest unusual velocity.

hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

a hasty inspection

expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

the expeditious handling of an order

Examples of hasty in a Sentence

I made a hasty sketch of the scene.

Seeing the dog, the cat made a hasty retreat up a tree.

We don't want to make any hasty decisions.

He later realized that he was too hasty in his decision to quit.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Supreme Court knows this also, hence its hasty and premature dicta insulating members of the Federal Reserve Board from removal. —George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2025

And the hasty budget changes mean some people will get hurt. —Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 11 June 2025

The solutions are difficult, and many of the entrepreneurs said their businesses are facing existential crises, delaying new shipments and trying not to make any hasty decisions. —Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

Such shifts would allow Washington to update its global force posture without hasty changes that surprise allies and create security gaps leading to deterrence failures. —Rebecca Lissner, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

see haste entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1c

Phrases Containing hasty

• hasty pudding
• made/beat a hasty retreat

Rhymes for hasty

• tasty

Kids Definition

hasty

adjective

ˈhā-stē 

hastier; hastiest

1

a

: done or made in a hurry

made a hasty sketch of the scene

b

: fast and often not thorough

made a hasty survey of the problem

2

: acting or done without forethought : rash

3

: quick to anger : irritable

a hasty temper

hastily

-stə-lē

adverb

hastiness

-stē-nəs

noun