accelerate

verb

ik-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
Definition of acceleratenext
1
as in to increase
to become greater in size, extent, volume, amount, or number toy purchases accelerate dramatically during the Christmas season

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to rush
to cause to move or proceed fast or faster we accelerated preparations for the hurricane upon hearing weather reports that it had gained speed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to expand
to make greater in size, amount, or number the company accelerated its advertising purchases even as the economy appeared to be in recession

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of accelerate For example, one hypothesis proposes that stress can accelerate early brain development. — Catherine Demers, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 Federal officials maintain the immigration officers believed their lives were in danger and opened fire only after Belgal smashed his car into two government vehicles and accelerated toward them. — Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Later in Thursday’s demonstration, the Roadster used the same jets to leap over a line of Tesla’s existing models parked side-by-side, and then used the jets off the back of the car to accelerate to 60 mph in that record time. — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026 Lower prices don’t necessarily mean lower budgets when adoption is accelerating. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for accelerate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accelerate
  1. increase
  2. rush
  3. expand
  4. rise
  5. push
  6. augment
  7. swell
  8. hasten
Verb
  • To increase supply, the International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to release more than 20 million barrels of fuel to the market.
    — Arathy Somasekhar Reuters, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Preparing multiple missions Manufacturing more rocket hardware will not increase launch frequency unless teams can prepare several missions simultaneously.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of increase
Verb
  • Manzanillo, a major port city in Mexico, rushed to close beaches yesterday in preparation.
    — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Donald noted that the Rams had pass-rushing success in the last few years without him or Garrett.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of rush
Verb
  • From elevating beds to expanding sections to sliding walls and even entire roofs, these 10 homes transform to get maximum use out of a compact space.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Blue Origin is expanding its Florida operations to support a much faster launch schedule, targeting multiple New Glenn flights per week by the end of the decade.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of expand
Verb
  • The price of Brent crude oil rose to $106 per barrel this morning.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The milestone arrives at a precarious time for Australia’s festival sector, which has seen a wave of cancellations and closures in recent years amid rising costs and softening ticket sales.
    — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of rise
Verb
  • Torrential rain has pushed all three waterways higher for days, spilling them over their banks in northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay and western Uruguay.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Audit reports, supplier codes of conduct and corporate sustainability pledges have made up the bulk of brands’ efforts to push a more ecological and socially aware agenda, but times have changed.
    — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of push
Verb
  • There is a naturalistic aesthetic to the film, augmented by the locations, the costumes and the hair and makeup design.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Enabling that mode augments the on-device scam detection first shipped in March 2025, adding cloud analysis run in Google’s Private AI Compute environment.
    — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of augment
Verb
  • The ballad finds Fontaines’ Grian Chatten and Rosalía trading lines over a moody acoustic strum that repeatedly swells with strings and clattering drums.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Global manufacturers increased their purchases of components and raw materials in September as demand swelled.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of swell
Verb
  • All of us owe the foursome a thanks for hastening the demise of the old Latino political machines that birthed them and kept the city stuck in tribalism for too long.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The inference was that Jamie had planted a disparaging story about his older brother to hasten his exit.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of hasten

Browse Nearby Words

acceding (to)
accelerate
accelerated
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Cite this Entry

“Accelerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accelerate. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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