accelerate

[ak-sel-uh-reyt] / ækˈsɛl əˌreɪt /

VERB

increase speed, timing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

advance expedite further hasten open up quicken spur step up stimulate

STRONG

drive dust forward gun hurry impel precipitate railroad rev roll tool

WEAK

fire up hammer on lay a patch lay rubber make tracks nail it peel rubber put on afterburners put pedal to metal rev up speed up step on the gas

Antonyms

STRONGEST

block cease check delay discourage halt hinder slow stop

STRONG

dissuade repress wait

WEAK

decelerate defer impede postpone retard slow down

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ng noted that if Beijing "truly wants to accelerate" the internationalisation of China's yuan currency, "it will need to accept freer cross-border capital movement".

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

And as price pressures have started to accelerate once again, bitcoin is proving that it isn’t much of an inflation hedge, despite its reputation.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

That revived some worries about how fast AI demand will accelerate.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

The Japanese company plans to accelerate migration of its ‘BiCS 8’ and BiCS 10’ flash memory products, maintaining technology leadership.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

That wasn’t exactly a confidence builder for the man preparing to ride it into orbit, but it was the more powerful Atlas that would be required to accelerate the Mercury capsule to orbital velocity.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Vocabulary lists containing accelerate

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

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Holes

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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2

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