quicken

/ˈkwɪkən/

/ˈkwɪkɪn/

Other forms: quickened; quickening; quickens

When things quicken, they speed up or make something go faster. If you're late for school, you should probably quicken your pace.

Your heartbeat probably quickens when you're afraid or after you've been running fast, and you could also say that your curiosity quickens (or increases) when you overhear a mysterious phone call. The oldest meaning of quicken, however, is "come to life," a definition which sounds very old fashioned now, but which was once used to describe an advanced stage of pregnancy: "The fetus began to quicken."

Definitions of quicken

1. verb

   move faster
   synonyms: accelerate, speed, speed up

   types:

   brisk, brisk up, brisken

   become brisk

   type of:

   deepen, intensify

   become more intense
2. verb

   make keen or more acute
   synonyms: whet

   type of:

   excite, stimulate, stir

   stir feelings in
3. verb

   give life or energy to
   synonyms: invigorate

   type of:

   excite, stimulate

   act as a stimulant
4. verb

   give new life or energy to
   synonyms: animate, reanimate, recreate, renovate, repair, revive, revivify, vivify

   come to, resuscitate, revive

   return to consciousness

   type of:

   arouse, brace, energise, energize, perk up, stimulate

   cause to be alert and energetic
5. verb

   show signs of life
   “the fetus quickened”

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion