accelerate

English

Etymology

First attested in the 1520s. Either from Latin accelerātus, perfect passive participle of accelerō (“I accelerate, hasten”), formed from ad + celerō (“I hasten”), which is from celer (“quick”) (see celerity), or back-formation from acceleration.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ək.ˈsɛl.ə.ˌɹeɪt/, /æk.ˈsɛl.ə.ˌɹeɪt/, /ɪk.ˈsɛl.ə.ˌɹeɪt/

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Verb

accelerate (third-person singular simple present accelerates, present participle accelerating, simple past and past participle accelerated)

1. (transitive) To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of.
2. (transitive) To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of.

   to accelerate the growth of a plant, the increase of wealth, etc.

   • 2013 September-October, Michael Sivak, “Will AC Put a Chill on the Global Energy Supply?”, in American Scientist:

     Nevertheless, it is clear that the global energy demand for air-conditioning will grow substantially as nations become more affluent, with the consequences of climate change potentially accelerating the demand.

3. (transitive, physics) To cause a change of velocity.
4. (transitive) To hasten, as the occurrence of an event.

   to accelerate our departure

5. (transitive, education) To enable a student to finish a course of study in less than normal time.
6. (intransitive) To become faster; to begin to move more quickly.
7. (intransitive) Grow; increase.

Synonyms

• (to cause to move faster): hasten, quicken, speed up; see also Thesaurus:speed up
• (to quicken progress): expedite, further,
• (to hasten the occurrence of an event): advance, forward

Antonyms

• decelerate
• retard
• unaccelerate

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

accelerate (not comparable)

1. (archaic) Accelerated; quickened; hastened; hurried.
   • 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2:

     ... a general knowledg of the definition of motion, and of the distinction of natural and violent, even and accelerate, and the like, sufficing.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “accelerate”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Italian

Etymology 1

Adjective

accelerate f pl

1. feminine plural of accelerato

Participle

accelerate f pl

1. feminine plural of accelerato

Etymology 2

Verb

accelerate

1. inflection of accelerare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Latin

Verb

accelerāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of accelerō