hastier; hastiest
1
a
: done or made in a hurry
hasty city-street snapshotsR. 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
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 And as the royal-photo fiasco shows, the deepfake age doesn’t need to be powered by generative AI—a hasty Photoshop will do. Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024 The real question is should the house have brought forth such a hasty impeachment with no evidence, and the answer to that is absolutely not. Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Feb. 2024 But Zuck’s bravado is unflatteringly being compared to the overly hasty obituary for the iPhone written by rival Steve Ballmer when the revolutionary device first launched nearly 17 years ago. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024 Starting such a platform without telling the principal is a no-no and the upset administration confronts Hazel abut her hasty and perhaps unethical decisions. Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 11 Feb. 2024 Even so, a hasty plan that goes bad is likely to take you down with it! Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 12 Feb. 2024 At this point, [Mutch and Khuri] were sent back up the gorge to prepare something hot and to strike camp ready for a hasty exit. Myke Cole and Michael Livingston, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2024 At a bar, a baseball game, a kids’ Christmas concert, or a church, such declarations would yield embarrassed confusion, the sound of feet slowly shuffling away, and a hasty investigation into the availability of straitjackets. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 31 Jan. 2024 An arrest photo showed his jaw covered in bandages, the result of a hasty attempt at plastic surgery to alter his appearance. Amy Chang Chien, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hasty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see haste entry 1

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of hasty was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near hasty

Cite this Entry

“Hasty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hasty. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hasty

adjective
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

More from Merriam-Webster on hasty

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!