Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for hastily

hastily

[ heyst-l-ee ]

adverb

  1. with haste; rapidly; speedily:

    Late one snowy night in Maryland, moving crews hastily loaded a line of vans and, under cover of darkness, departed the city.

  2. without sufficient care or attention:

    This book feels far less potent, and far more hastily written, than the earlier work.

  3. unnecessarily quickly or rashly; impetuously:

    Six months earlier, she had hastily married a former high school classmate.



Discover More

Other Words From

  • un·hast·i·ly adverb

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of hastily1

First recorded in 1275–1325; hasty ( def ) + -ly

Discover More

Example Sentences

But, like a hastily eaten fast-food meal, they’re quickly forgotten.

The hastily drafted bill left open to interpretation which sorts of businesses would be eligible to get this tax break.

Section 230 barely rates a mention in Senate’s hasty pre-election flogging of tech CEOsWe’ll have more from our interview with Case tomorrow.

If you build a winterized outdoor patio, they still might not comeAs more states are allowing the hospitality business to reopen in varying capacities, restaurants, particularly those in cooler climates, are hastily prepping for a winter al fresco.

From Eater

It might have been an additional shield to some particular interests, and another obstacle generally to hasty and partial measures.

From Vox

The pale, baby-faced, red-cheeked rapper is furiously puffing away at a hastily-made blunt crammed with low-grade weed.

And while there now are blood reserves lining hospital shelves, Dudley said the nonprofit is hastily approaching a crisis.

A video has appeared that experts believe shows the Buk missile battery being hastily withdrawn to the border with Russia.

A senior Russian ambassador has demanded—and been hastily given—a top-level appointment at the Foreign Office today.

While the Bear and WaMu deals were conducted hastily, and amid market turmoil, the rules still apply.

In case any reader should hastily exclaim, “What a ridiculous question; there can be only one southward!”

Her last words floated back from the depths of the corridor; a clock was striking and she had pattered off hastily.

Here Robinson suddenly turned pale, and, hastily reaching out for his gun, sprang to his feet.

Not having completed the loading of his gun, Tom hastily rode behind a dense bush, and concealed himself as well as he could.

He paused; and hastily wrote a few lines, to say that parent still lived, and would yet proclaim himself with honour to the world.

Advertisement

Discover More

More About Hastily

What does hastily mean?

Hastily means rashly or too quickly and often carelessly.

The related adjective hasty most commonly means too fast and often careless.

The noun haste most commonly refers to urgency, such as in completing a task. Haste can also be used as another word for speed or swiftness. But haste also commonly means urgency or speed that is careless or reckless. This is how the word is used in the expression haste makes waste, which means that rushing things leads to mistakes. This is how hasty and hastily are most commonly used.

Doing things hastily is thought to lead to mistakes. Making a decision hastily is making it too quickly, often leading to negative consequences.

Hastily can also mean speedily, as in We packed up hastily and left as quickly as we could. 

Example: Don’t make big decisions hastily—you should always take some time to think about them.

Where does hastily come from?

The first records of the word hastily come from around 1300. The noun haste is related to the English hæst, “violence,” the Old Norse heifst, “hatred,” the Gothic haifsts, “quarrel,” and the Old High German heisti, “powerful.” The suffix -ly is used to form adverbs (the y in hasty is changed to an i in hastily, which is a spelling convention used in other adverbs whose base adjectives end in y, such as happily).

Hastily is most often used in a negative way. Most of the time, it implies that something was simply done too quickly, leading to mistakes. The opposite of doing something hastily is taking your time.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to hastily?

What are some synonyms for hastily?

What are some words that share a root or word element with hastily

What are some words that often get used in discussing hastily?

How is hastily used in real life?

Hastily is most commonly used in a negative way to imply that something has been done too quickly and in a careless way.

 

 

Try using hastily!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of hastily?

A. rashly
B. carelessly
C. hurriedly
D. calmly

Word of the Day

tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


HastieHastings