quicken [kwik-uhn] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin verb (used with object)
- to make more rapid; accelerate; hasten: She quickened her pace.
- to give or restore vigor or activity to; stir up, rouse, or stimulate: to quicken the imagination.
- to revive; restore life to: The spring rains quickened the earth.
verb (used without object)
- to become more active, sensitive, etc.: This drug causes the pulse to quicken.
- to become alive; receive life.
- (of the mother) to enter that stage of pregnancy in which the fetus gives indications of life.
- (of a fetus in the womb) to begin to manifest signs of life.
Origin of quicken First recorded in 1250–1300, quicken is from the Middle English word quikenen. See quick, -en1 Related formsquick·en·er, nounre·quick·en, verbun·quick·ened, adjectiveSynonyms for quicken 2. animate, vitalize, enliven. 3. vivify. Examples from the Web for quickener Historical Examples of quickener
It was a quickener to him, that his road lay for some distance along the Linden-city causeway.
Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
Henry’s silence was probably meant as a quickener of the beadsman’s garrulity.
Wilson’s Tales of the Borders and of Scotland
Various
As a teacher he proved himself a quickener of thought amongst students, rather than a close and special instructor.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 1
Various
It is a quickener of the intellect, a purifier of the affections, and an instrument of heightening our spiritual aspirations.
A. B. (Artemas Bowers) Muzzey
And truly Mr. Chesterton is invaluable as a quickener and stimulator of the minds of his readers.
John Kelman
British Dictionary definitions for quickener quicken verb
- to make or become faster; acceleratehe quickened his walk; her heartbeat quickened with excitement
- to impart to or receive vigour, enthusiasm, etc; stimulate or be stimulatedscience quickens man’s imagination
- to make or become alive; revive
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- (of an unborn fetus) to begin to show signs of life
- (of a pregnant woman) to reach the stage of pregnancy at which movements of the fetus can be felt
Word Origin and History for quickener quicken v.
c.1300, “come to life; give life to,” from quick (adj.) + -en (1). Meaning “become faster” is from 1805. Related: Quickened; quickening. An earlier verb was simply quick (c.1200), from Old English gecwician.
quickener in Medicine quicken [kwĭk′ən] v.
- To reach the stage of pregnancy when the fetus can be felt to move.