v., -tat·ed, -tat·ing, -tates. v.tr.
- To throw from or as if from a great height; hurl downward: "The finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below" (Thornton Wilder).
- To cause to happen, especially suddenly or prematurely. See synonyms at speed.
- Meteorology. To cause (water vapor) to condense and fall from the air as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
- Chemistry. To cause (a solid substance) to be separated from a solution.
- Meteorology. To condense and fall from the air as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
- Chemistry. To be separated from a solution as a solid.
- To fall or be thrown headlong: an ailing economy that precipitated into ruin despite foreign intervention.
- Moving rapidly and heedlessly; speeding headlong.
- Acting with or marked by excessive haste and lack of due deliberation. See synonyms at impetuous, reckless.
- Occurring suddenly or unexpectedly.
- Chemistry. A solid or solid phase separated from a solution.
- A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.
[Latin praecipitāre, praecipitāt-, to throw headlong, from praeceps, praecipit-, headlong : prae-, pre- + caput, capit-, head.]
precipitately pre·cip'i·tate·ly (-tĭt-lē) adv.precipitateness pre·cip'i·tate·ness n.
precipitative pre·cip'i·ta'tive adj.
precipitator pre·cip'i·ta'tor n.
USAGE NOTE The adjective precipitate and the adverb precipitately were once applied to physical steepness but are now used primarily of rash, headlong actions: Their precipitate entry into the foreign markets led to disaster. He withdrew precipitately from the race. Precipitous currently means "steep" in both literal and figurative senses: the precipitous rapids of the upper river; a precipitous drop in commodity prices. But precipitous and precipitously are also frequently used to mean "abrupt, hasty," which takes them into territory that would ordinarily belong to precipitate and precipitately: their precipitous decision to leave. This usage is a natural extension of the use of precipitous to describe a rise or fall in a quantity over time: a precipitous increase in reports of measles is also an abrupt or sudden event. Though this extended use of precipitous is well attested in the work of reputable writers, it is still widely regarded as an error.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
