accelerate

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/, /ækˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/, /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/
  • (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

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

• acceleratable
• accelerated ageing
• accelerated aging
• accelerated critical illness
• accelerated depreciation
• accelerated erosion
• accelerated graphics port
• accelerated motion
• accelerating force
• acceleratingly
• accelerating universe
• accelerative
• accelerator
• deaccelerate
• nonaccelerating
• outaccelerate
• overaccelerate
• post-accelerate
• reaccelerate
• unaccelerating

Related terms

• accelerando
• accelerant
• acceleration
• accelerograph
• accelerometer

Translations

to cause to move faster

• Albanian: përshpejtoj (sq)
• Arabic: سَرَّعَ (sarraʕa)
• Armenian: արագացնել (hy) (aragacʻnel)
• Asturian: acelerar
• Belarusian: паскара́ць impf (paskarácʹ), паско́рыць pf (paskórycʹ)
• Bulgarian: ускоря́вам (bg) (uskorjávam)
• Catalan: accelerar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加速 (zh) (jiāsù)

• Czech: zrychlovat impf, zrychlit (cs) pf
• Danish: accelerere (da)
• Dutch: versnellen (nl)
• Esperanto: rapidigi, akceli
• Finnish: kiihdyttää (fi), nopeuttaa (fi)
• French: accélérer (fr)
• Galician: acelerar (gl)
• German: beschleunigen (de)
• Hebrew: האיץ (he) (heíts)
• Hungarian: gyorsít (hu)
• Ido: rapidigar (io)
• Irish: luathaigh
• Italian: accelerare (it)
• Japanese: 加速する (ja) (かそくする, kasoku suru)
• Khmer: ពន្លឿន (pʊənlɨən)
• Latin: accelerō
• Luxembourgish: acceleréieren
• Middle Persian: [script needed] (awštāftan~ōštāftan)
• Mongolian: хурдасгах (mn) (xurdasgax)
• Norwegian: akselerere (no)
• Persian: شتافتن (fa) (šetâftan)
• Polish: przyśpieszać (pl) impf, przyśpieszyć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: acelerar (pt)
• Romanian: accelera (ro)
• Russian: ускоря́ть (ru) impf (uskorjátʹ), уско́рить (ru) pf (uskóritʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: убр̀зати

  Roman: ubr̀zati (sh), ubrzávati (sh) impf

• Slovak: zrýchľovať impf, zrýchliť pf
• Spanish: acelerar (es), embalar (es)
• Swedish: accelerera (sv), ge mer gas (1, about motorized vehicles), gasa (sv) (1, same as latter)
• Tagalog: darasigin
• Thai: เร่ง (th) (reng)
• Turkish: hızlandırmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: приско́рювати impf (pryskórjuvaty) приско́рити pf (pryskóryty)
• Vietnamese: tăng tốc (vi)
• Welsh: cyflymu (cy)
• West Frisian: fersnelje

to quicken natural or ordinary progression or process

• Asturian: acelerar
• Belarusian: паскара́цца impf (paskarácca), паско́рыцца pf (paskórycca)
• Bulgarian: ускоря́вам (bg) (uskorjávam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加速 (zh) (jiāsù), 變快 / 变快 (biànkuài)

• Czech: urychlit (cs)
• Dutch: versnellen (nl)
• Esperanto: akceli
• Finnish: kiihdyttää (fi)
• French: accélérer (fr)
• Galician: acelerar (gl)
• German: beschleunigen (de)
• Hebrew: זירז (zeréz)
• Italian: accelerare (it)
• Japanese: 促進する (ja) (そくしんする, sokushin suru)
• Mongolian: хурдасгах (mn) (xurdasgax)
• Norwegian: påskynde (no)
• Polish: przyśpieszać się impf, przyśpieszyć się pf
• Portuguese: acelerar (pt), apressar (pt)
• Russian: ускоря́ться (ru) impf (uskorjátʹsja), уско́риться (ru) pf (uskóritʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: убр̀зати

  Roman: ubr̀zati (sh)

• Spanish: acelerar (es)
• Swedish: accelerera (sv)
• Ukrainian: приско́рюватися impf (pryskórjuvatysja)
• Welsh: cyflymu (cy)

to hasten

• Arabic: اِسْتَعْجَلَ (istaʕjala)
• Belarusian: паскара́ць impf (paskarácʹ), паско́рыць pf (paskórycʹ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加速 (zh) (jiāsù), 變快 / 变快 (biànkuài)

• Dutch: bespoedigen (nl), haasten (nl)
• Esperanto: akceli
• Finnish: nopeuttaa (fi)
• French: accélérer (fr)
• German: eilen (de), sich beeilen (de)
• Hebrew: זירז (zeréz)
• Italian: affrettare (it)
• Japanese: (Kasoku suru) (加速する), 加速する ((Kasoku suru))
• Norwegian: påskynde (no)
• Polish: przyśpieszać (pl) impf, przyśpieszyć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: acelerar (pt), apressar (pt)
• Russian: ускоря́ть (ru) impf (uskorjátʹ), уско́рить (ru) pf (uskóritʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: убр̀зати

  Roman: ubr̀zati (sh)

• Spanish: acelerar (es), apresurar (es)
• Swedish: påskynda (sv)
• Welsh: cyflymu (cy)

to become faster

• Arabic: أَسْرَعَ (ʔasraʕa)
• Belarusian: паскара́цца impf (paskarácca), паско́рыцца pf (paskórycca)
• Bulgarian: ускоря́вам се (uskorjávam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 變快 / 变快 (biànkuài)

• Czech: zrychlovat se impf, zrychlit se (cs) pf
• Dutch: versnellen (nl), sneller gaan
• Esperanto: akceliĝi
• Finnish: nopeutua (fi), kiihtyä (fi)
• French: accélérer (fr)
• German: schneller werden, beschleunigen (de)
• Hebrew: האיץ (he) (heíts)
• Hungarian: gyorsul (hu)
• Ido: rapideskar
• Italian: accelerare (it)
• Japanese: 加速する (ja) (かそくする, kasoku suru)
• Mongolian: хурдсах (mn) (xurdsax)
• Norwegian: sette opp farten
• Polish: przyśpieszać się impf, przyśpieszyć się pf
• Portuguese: acelerar (pt)
• Russian: ускоря́ться (ru) impf (uskorjátʹsja), уско́риться (ru) pf (uskóritʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: убр̀зати

  Roman: ubr̀zati (sh)

• Spanish: acelerarse (es), embalarse (es)
• Turkish: hızlanmak (tr)
• Welsh: cyflymu (cy)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} mempercepat (id)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} accelerar
• Woiwurrung: ^{(please verify)} woonudongnak

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