hasten

verb

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has·ten | \ ˈhā-sᵊn

hastened; hastening\ ˈhās-niŋ

, ˈhā-sᵊn-iŋ \

Definition of hasten

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

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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 on the Web That dynamic unfolded in Massachusetts on March 2 when Biden called on states to prioritize teachers for vaccinations to hasten the reopening of schools. — BostonGlobe.com, "The White House is speeding up its vaccination drive and pressuring states to follow its lead," 14 Apr. 2021 Virginia lawmakers voted last week to hasten the legalization timeline in the state, meaning possession of up to an ounce of cannabis would be legal for those 21 and over as of July 1. — Christine Condon, baltimoresun.com, "Virginia and New York are among the latest states to legalize cannabis for recreational use. Why not Maryland?," 12 Apr. 2021 Asking questions in class about the concepts in this article may hasten the adjustment. — Bill Conerly, Forbes, "Useful Economics—The Business Insights Not Being Taught In Colleges," 9 Apr. 2021 The recovery team had been considering taking abalone from Big Sur’s healthy stocks and transplanting them southward to hasten the rebound. — Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, "Rush to rescue thousands of endangered abalone buried in Big Sur landslides," 3 Apr. 2021 Isaacson nevertheless argues that the coronavirus pandemic will hasten the acceptance and deployment of CRISPR. — Washington Post, "The fierce scientific rivalry over a powerful gene-editing technology," 12 Mar. 2021 On Friday, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten joined the district and the union to hasten a resolution to any remaining issues. — cleveland, "Cleveland schools, union agree to return students to classroom," 9 Mar. 2021 With a deadline of Sept. 11 – an awful date to choose, Quantock said, as it is celebrated by extremist groups – the Taliban will increase pressure to hasten the U.S. withdrawal. — Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, "'The progress Afghanistan has made ... will all be for naught,' retired general fears," 14 Apr. 2021 The emphasis on fixing long-standing social unfairness defined a session that also sought to bolster civil rights and aid for immigrants, hasten action on climate change and assist those most devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. — Washington Post, "Maryland legislative session drawing to a close after focus on inequity," 12 Apr. 2021

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.