accelerate

C1 Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/ UK /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #15453

Meanings

1

verb
To move faster or to make something move faster.

The car accelerated as soon as the light turned green.
2

verb
To make a process or change happen more quickly.

Warmer temperatures can accelerate the growth of these plants.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move faster or to make... speed

2 verb · to make a process or change... hasten expedite quicken

Opposites

decelerate retardunaccelerate

Word family

Forms acceleratedacceleratesaccelerating

Derived forms acceleratableacceleratinglyaccelerativeacceleratordeacceleratenonacceleratingoutaccelerateoveracceleratepost-acceleratereaccelerateunaccelerating

Related forms accelerandoaccelerantaccelerationaccelerographaccelerometer

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.

*kel- Proto-Indo-European accelerātus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# accelerate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 15453

## Meanings
1. To move faster or to make something move faster.
2. To make a process or change happen more quickly.

## Examples
- The car accelerated as soon as the light turned green.
- Warmer temperatures can accelerate the growth of these plants.

## Synonyms
- quicken

## Antonyms
- decelerate
- retard
- unaccelerate

## Derived Forms
- acceleratable
- acceleratingly
- accelerative
- accelerator
- deaccelerate
- nonaccelerating
- outaccelerate
- overaccelerate
- post-accelerate
- reaccelerate
- unaccelerating

## Related Forms
- accelerando
- accelerant
- acceleration
- accelerograph
- accelerometer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kel-
- Root: accelerātus

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Accelerate is 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. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern verbal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *kel- (Proto-Indo-European) and accelerātus (Latin). Current senses include to move faster or to make something move faster and to make a process or change happen more quickly. The wider family includes derived forms such as acceleratable, acceleratingly, accelerative, accelerator, and deaccelerate and related words such as accelerando, accelerant, acceleration, accelerograph, and accelerometer.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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accelerate

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