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.

Gas-price volatility will also accelerate building electrification in Germany and Eastern Europe—both key markets for Nibe—the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Artemis V and beyond will aim to accelerate the cadence of lunar landings to one every six months and continue to test technology to make lunar landings easier and cheaper.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

By encouraging collaboration between scientists, clinicians, and technology experts, the initiative aims to accelerate progress in addressing major health challenges.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

China's emergence this century as an economic and military superpower has also seen its space capabilities accelerate rapidly, and it now has a stated aim of landing an astronaut on the Moon by around 2030.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

In fourteenth-century Oxford, mathematically inclined philosophers had hypothesized that falling bodies accelerate continuously; but they had made no effort to confirm this theoretical possibility through experiment.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Vocabulary lists containing accelerate

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

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Holes

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