acceleration

C2+ Topic:Physics

US /ækˌsɛləˈreɪʃən/ UK /əkˌsɛləˈreɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the rate of increase of speed or, more generally, the act of speeding up

The car's rapid acceleration pressed them back into their seats.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the rate of increase of... quickeningspeeduphasteningexpedition

Opposites

decelerationslowdownretardation braking

Word family

Related forms accelerate acceleratoraccelerativecelerity

Simplified etymology

Acceleration comes from Latin accelerare ‘hasten’, formed from celer ‘quick’. It entered English in the late Middle Ages.

Etymology

From Latin accelerātiō, from accelerāre ('to hasten'), from ad- ('to') + celer ('swift').

accelerāre Latin celer Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Physics Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# acceleration

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ækˌsɛləˈreɪʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /əkˌsɛləˈreɪʃən/

## Meanings
1. the rate of increase of speed or, more generally, the act of speeding up

## Examples
- The car's rapid acceleration pressed them back into their seats.

## Synonyms
- quickening
- speedup
- hastening
- expedition

## Antonyms
- deceleration
- slowdown
- retardation
- braking

## Related Forms
- accelerate
- accelerator
- accelerative
- celerity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: accelerāre
- Root: celer

## Etymology
From Latin accelerātiō, from accelerāre ('to hasten'), from ad- ('to') + celer ('swift').

## AI Etymology
Acceleration is a noun meaning "the rate of increase of speed or, more generally, the act of speeding up". Historically, it is from Latin accelerātiō, from accelerāre ('to hasten'), from ad- ('to') + celer ('swift'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: acceleration is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The historical chain links Latin accelerāre with Latin celer. Close English family members include accelerate, accelerator, accelerative, and celerity.

## Topics
- Physics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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