hastier; hastiest
1
a
: done or made in a hurry
hasty city-street snapshots—
R. B. Heilman
R. B. Heilman
b
: fast and typically superficial
made a hasty examination of the wound
c
archaic
: rapid in action or movement : speedy
2
: acting too quickly : overly eager or impatient
realized he had been hasty in quitting his job
3
: exhibiting a lack of careful thought or consideration : precipitate, rash
We don't want to make any hasty decisions.
4
: prone to anger : irritable
a hasty temperament
hastiness
noun
Examples of hasty in a Sentence
I made a hasty sketch of the scene.
Seeing the dog, the cat made a hasty retreat up a tree.
We don't want to make any hasty decisions.
He later realized that he was too hasty in his decision to quit.
Recent Examples on the Web
But hasty responses can backfire, with organizations learning the hard way that maintaining trust is far easier than rebuilding it once it’s been lost.
—Lynn Godfrey, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Out West, where the mood is presumably less colored by existential dread, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the must-see Thunder take on Anthony Edwards and a Timberwolves team that hopes to make everyone forget their hasty exit from last year’s Conference Final.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 May 2025
The soldiers’ demands also suggest that Mr. Putin’s hasty annexation of four Ukrainian regions early in the war may have limited his current options in negotiations because a significant part of the population would view anything less as a defeat.
—Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 17 May 2025
But the archaeologist was hasty, careless and imprecise, officials said, and after an excavator worked through the site, its location was lost to time — until now.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hasty
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Lynn Godfrey, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Out West, where the mood is presumably less colored by existential dread, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the must-see Thunder take on Anthony Edwards and a Timberwolves team that hopes to make everyone forget their hasty exit from last year’s Conference Final.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 May 2025
The soldiers’ demands also suggest that Mr. Putin’s hasty annexation of four Ukrainian regions early in the war may have limited his current options in negotiations because a significant part of the population would view anything less as a defeat.
—Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 17 May 2025
But the archaeologist was hasty, careless and imprecise, officials said, and after an excavator worked through the site, its location was lost to time — until now.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hasty
Cite this Entry
“Hasty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hasty. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hasty
adjective
hastier; hastiest
1
a
: done or made in a hurry
made a hasty sketch of the scene
b
: fast and often not thorough
made a hasty survey of the problem
2
: acting or done without forethought : rash
3
: quick to anger : irritable
a hasty temper
hastily
adverb
-stə-lē
hastiness
noun
-stē-nəs
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