hasty
HAY-stee
/ˈheɪ.sti/
Done or acting with excessive speed or urgency; hurried and lacking thoroughness.
Focuses primarily on speed and superficiality, often resulting in sloppy mistakes.
The story behind the word. Entered Middle English from Old French haste (noun) and haster (verb), which came from Proto-Germanic haifstiz meaning 'violence' or 'struggle'. The element of physical violence faded, leaving the modern sense of undue rush.
Word relationships
- hurried: Hurried simply means done fast; hasty carries a stronger suggestion of negative consequences due to rush.
- cursory: Cursory describes a rapid, surface-level inspection or review rather than a personal action or judgment.
- thorough: Thorough means complete, detailed, and painstakingly executed.
- unhurried: Unhurried indicates a calm, measured, and deliberate pace.
Commonly confused with
- haste: Haste is the noun meaning speed or urgency; hasty is the adjective describing the action or person.
Word family
- haste (noun): Excessive speed or urgency of movement.
- hastily (adverb): In a quick, often rushed manner.
- hasten (verb): To cause something to happen faster.
Collocations
- hasty decision
- hasty retreat
- hasty conclusion
- hasty departure
Idioms & expressions
- haste makes waste
- marry in haste, repent at leisure
Example sentences
- "Do not be hasty, that is my motto." Character dialogue regarding patience
- "Drawing hasty generalizations from a sample size of ten participants invalidates the study." Academic research warning
Memory hook
Hasty making of toast burns the taste. Too fast to be good.
When not to use
Avoid when describing deliberate fast actions that are expertly performed without error.
Fun facts
- The proverb 'Haste makes waste' was recorded in English as early as 1390 in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Related words
Explore more words
rapid, against the clock, haphazard, imprudent, expeditious, express
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