hastier; hastiest
1
a
: done or made in a hurry
hasty city-street snapshotsR. B. Heilman
b
: fast and typically superficial
made a hasty examination of the wound
c
archaic : rapid in action or movement : speedy
2
: acting too quickly : overly eager or impatient
realized he had been hasty in quitting his job
3
: exhibiting a lack of careful thought or consideration : precipitate, rash
We don't want to make any hasty decisions.
4
: prone to anger : irritable
a hasty temperament
hastiness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for hasty

fast, rapid, swift, fleet, quick, speedy, hasty, expeditious mean moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity.

fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves

fast horses

and rapid to the movement itself.

rapid current

swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

returned the ball with one swift stroke

fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

fleet runners

quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

a quick wit

speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment

speedy delivery of mail

and may also suggest unusual velocity.

hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

a hasty inspection

expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

the expeditious handling of an order

Examples of hasty in a Sentence

I made a hasty sketch of the scene. Seeing the dog, the cat made a hasty retreat up a tree. We don't want to make any hasty decisions. He later realized that he was too hasty in his decision to quit.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Don’t be too slow or too hasty to change; instead, take an agile approach to service evolution. Agur Jõgi, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024 Caleb, once away, makes a hasty escape, this time in a truck, and before Athena can stop Sparks, the probie has jumped onto the back of the vehicle. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024 For instance, after losing the 2020 election, Trump wanted to impose a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in his waning weeks as commander in chief: the same kind of disastrous retreat that President Joe Biden authorized a half year later. Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024 Manifestations of that disability, along with a medical hypothesis that no responsible doctor would espouse today, resulted in hasty allegations and then the conviction of an innocent man. Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman, 9 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hasty 

Word History

Etymology

see haste entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1c

Time Traveler
The first known use of hasty was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near hasty

Cite this Entry

“Hasty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hasty. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

hasty

adjective
hastier; hastiest
1
a
: done or made in a hurry
made a hasty sketch of the scene
b
: fast and often not thorough
made a hasty survey of the problem
2
: acting or done without forethought : rash
3
: quick to anger : irritable
a hasty temper
hastily
-stə-lē
adverb
hastiness
-stē-nəs
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hasty

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