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 of hasty

• 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

Hatch has also faced criticism from some child welfare advocates, who say the Department of Children and Families has been too hasty to remove medically vulnerable children from their parents and to cut off parental rights. —Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026

The Second Emu War After a week of frustration, the three-man army beat a hasty retreat. —Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 25 Feb. 2026

As California is amply demonstrating with the hasty exits of many of its billionaires in the face of a potential state tax on their unrealized paper wealth, taxing the rich (at least by itself) is no panacea. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026

Some players and agents are lobbying for other candidates, fearing — rightly or wrongly — that Scott Boras’ influence is pushing the union toward a too hasty promotion of Meyer, a polarizing figure both within the union and among the general player population. —Evan Drellich, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026

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