Accelerated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Made to happen or progress more rapidly than usual ; caused something to increase in speed or velocity
2. Occurred with increased speed or happened sooner than expected ; prompted something to move or develop faster
3. Moved forward at a quicker rate or pace ; triggered acceleration in an object or process

Etymology: The past tense "accelerated" is simply the past form of "accelerate," so the story belongs to its root. That root is the Latin "accelerare," built from "ad" ("to") and "celer" ("quick"), and it meant "to hasten" or "to speed up." "Celer" also gives English "celerity," a word for swiftness that has long been used in more formal writing. English first used "accelerate" in the 1520s, and the source's evidence suggests it may have come straight from the Latin past participle "accelerātus," or may have been back-formed from the noun "acceleration," which was already in use. Scholars cannot settle which, so the word's exact route into English stays open. In its early English use, the word meant plain physical speed: making a movement or process go faster. The sense of something happening sooner than expected developed later, so the modern figurative uses, such as a trend accelerating or a plan being accelerated, grew out of that literal idea of hurrying along.

Synonyms: hastened, quickened, sped up, increased, boosted

Antonyms: slowed, decelerated, reduced, diminished, impeded