hasten

play

verb has·ten \ˈhā-s^ən\

Definition of hasten

hastened

;

hastening

play \ˈhās-niŋ, ˈhā-s^ən-iŋ\

intransitive verb
: to move or act quickly She hastened up the stairs.
transitive verb
1 : to encourage to move or act quickly : to urge on hastened her to the door — A. J. Cronin
2 : to cause to happen more quickly : accelerate His death was hastened by alcoholism. hasten the coming of a new order — D. W. Brogan

hastener

play \ˈhās-nər, ˈhā-s^ən-ər\ noun

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Examples of hasten in a Sentence

His death was hastened by alcohol abuse.
hasten the activation of yeast with heat

Recent Examples of hasten from the Web

To get reticent researchers and institutions to share their data and hasten cures.

— sy mukherjee, Fortune, "A History of Joe Biden’s War on Cancer", 29 June 2017
In 2007, a doctor in San Luis Obispo stood trial for attempting to hasten the death of a potential organ donor with morphine.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "The Disputed Death of an 8-Year-Old Whose Organs Were Donated", 16 June 2017
The Mariners might have hastened that path prematurely, rushing him up after 50 minor-league games in 2013 and handing him the everyday job.

— ryan divish, The Seattle Times, "Baseball draft begins Monday with far-reaching implications for Mariners", 10 June 2017
Rich Americans may hasten a Trump headache: raising the debt limit.

— Bloomberg.com, "Your Evening Briefing", 31 May 2017
Shai Akabas, an analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, said that a reduction in income tax receipts probably isn’t enough to significantly hasten action on the debt ceiling.

— saleha mohsin, Bloomberg.com, "Rich Americans Hasten a Trump Headache: Raising Debt Ceiling", 31 May 2017
That strategy may buy it time, but is no cure-all, and the company will still be entangled with the nuclear operations that helped hasten its downfall.

— Washington Post, "Toshiba’s future imperiled by shaky ethics, nuclear fiascos", 30 May 2017
A movement intent on hastening the revolution develops certain habits of mind.

— michael tomasky, New Republic, "Elitism Is Liberalism’s Biggest Problem", 30 May 2017
Fellow defensive backs have praised him as a reliable performer who also hastened their own development.

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Players like Lowery make it harder to dislike Team Spanos", 30 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hasten'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.