hasten

present singular third person hastens · participle present hastening · participle past hastened · past hastened

1. intransitiveTo move or act in a quick fashion.

   Synonyms: dart

2. transitiveTo make someone speed up or make something happen quicker.

   I would hasten my escape from the windy storm.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 55:8

   2 more examples

   Hamlet: Bid the players make haste. Will you two help to hasten them?

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   A dearth of signalmen and the high cost of labour is hastening an elimination process that already was well under way before the second world war.

   1956 May, C. H. Betts, “St. Pancras Tunnel Signalbox”, in Railway Magazine, page 320

   Synonyms: accelerate

3. transitiveTo cause some scheduled event to happen earlier.

   […]and prescribed policies and packages of military, economic and technical assistance to hasten their inevitable march toward development and modernity.

   2008, Bradley Simpson, Economists with Guns, page 7

   1 more example

   The decision to hasten completion of the electrification of London Midland Region main lines from Euston to the north and the subsequent diversion of some traffic to the Western Region in order to allow the engineers fuller track occupation, have focused attention on the two main routes between London, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

   1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 96

   Synonyms: hurry

plural Hastens

1. A surname from Dutch.