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''precipitate'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260305143651-00-⌔

precipitate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Verb

precipitate (third-person singular simple present precipitates, present participle precipitating, simple past and past participle precipitated)

  • (transitive) To make something happen suddenly and quickly.
    • ✤ Synonyms: advance, accelerate, hasten, speed up
    • ✤ to precipitate a journey, or a conflict
    • ✤ it precipitated their success
    • ✤ if they be stout and daring, it may precipitate their designs, and prove dangerous1
    • ✤ Back to his sight precipitates her steps.2
    • ✤ Freshly arrived in Paris in 1871 at the age of 17, Rimbaud proceded to precipitate the collapse of Verlaine’s marital menage, and with it his social position.3
  • (transitive) To throw an object or person from a great height.
    • ✤ Synonyms: throw, fling, cast; see also Thesaurus: throw
    • ✤ In gallopping heedlessly along, with her eyes turned upwards, she had unwarily approached too near the bank; it had given way with her, and she and her horse had been precipitated to the pebbled margin of the river.4
  • (transitive) To send violently into a certain state or condition.
    • ✤ we were precipitated into a conflict
  • (intransitive) (chemistry) To come out of a liquid solution into solid form.
    • ✤ Adding the acid will cause the salt to precipitate.
  • (transitive) (chemistry) To separate a substance out of a liquid solution into solid form.
  • (intransitive, meteorology) To have water in the air fall to the ground, for example as rain, snow, sleet, or hail; be deposited as condensed droplets.
    • ✤ Troponyms: rain, snow, hail
    • ✤ It will precipitate tomorrow, but we don’t know whether as rain or snow.
  • (transitive) To cause (water in the air) to condense or fall to the ground.
    • ✤ The light vapour of the preceding evening had been precipitated by the cold.5
  • (intransitive) To fall headlong.
  • (intransitive) To act too hastily; to be precipitous.

Adjective

precipitate (comparative more precipitate, superlative most precipitate)

  • headlong; falling steeply or vertically.
    • ✤ Synonyms: headlong, precipitant, precipitous
    • ✤ When the full stores their ancient bounds disdain,/Precipitate the furious torrent flows.6
  • Very steep; precipitous.
    • ✤ Synonym: brant
  • With a hasty impulse; hurried; headstrong.
    • ✤ Synonyms: hotheaded, impetuous, rash; see also Thesaurus: reckless
    • ✤ Though thoughtful far beyond your years, you are very inexperienced; and I would not have a preference that may originate in your little knowledge of others, or a romantic exaggeration of slight kindnesses, lead you into a precipitate union with me, unless you most seriously examine your own heart, and weigh the various consequences.7
  • Moving with excessive speed or haste; overly hasty.
    • ✤ The king was too precipitate in declaring war.
    • ✤ a precipitate case of disease
    • ✤ Being a trifle precipitate in his entry, he trod on a bottle, and was instantly extinguished by a Japanese screen, which appeared to collapse on him out of pure decrepitude.8
    • ✤ ‘One moment!“said Malone.”I beg, sir, that you will not be precipitate. I value your friendship too much to risk the loss of it if it can, in any way, be avoided.”9
  • Performed very rapidly or abruptly.
    • ✤ Synonyms: abrupt, precipitous, subitaneous; see also Thesaurus: sudden
    • ✤ It had cost me a distinct psychological effort to do so, and now that I was shut inside I had a momentary longing for precipitate retreat.10

Noun

precipitate (plural precipitates)

  • A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.
    • ✤ As for the musculature it is a precipitate of Spirit and the signature of the cosmos is in it.11
  • (chemistry) A solid that exits the liquid phase of a solution.

Etymology 1

From Latin praecipitātus, perfect passive participle of praecipitō (“throw down, hurl down, throw headlong”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from praeceps (“head foremost, headlong”) (praecipit- in its oblique stem), from prae (“before”) +‎ -ceps (“headed”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /pɹɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/, /pɹəˈsɪpɪteɪt/
  • Audio (US): 🔊

Etymology 2

From Latin praecipitātus (see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /pɹɪˈsɪpɪtət/, /pɹəˈsɪpɪtət/
  • Audio (US): 🔊
  • (common but often proscribed) (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /pɹɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/, /pɹəˈsɪpɪteɪt/
  • Audio (Australian): 🔊

Etymology 3

From New Latin praecipitātum. Equivalent to Latin praecipitō +‎ -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /pɹɪˈsɪpɪtət/, /pɹəˈsɪpɪtət/
  • Audio (US): 🔊
  • (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /pɹɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/, /pɹəˈsɪpɪteɪt/

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. 1625, Francis[Bacon], “Of Ambition”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC: ↩

  2. 1737, Richard Glover, Leonidas Book 4 ↩

  3. 1979 December 29, Rudy Kikel, “Young Men”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 23, page 15: ↩

  4. 1822 May 21, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Hawking”, in Bracebridge Hall, or The Humourists. A Medley. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 182: ↩

  5. 1819 June 23 – 1820 September 13, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC: ↩

  6. 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon, book 2, lines 853–854: ↩

  7. 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 145: ↩

  8. 1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 5: ↩

  9. 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019: ↩

  10. 1931, H[oward] P[hillips] Lovecraft, chapter 6, in The Whisperer in Darkness: ↩

  11. 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 381: ↩

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