precipitate
/icons/point.icon PRECIPITATE, HEADLONG, ABRUPT, IMPETUOUS, SUDDEN mean showing undue haste or unexpectedness.
PRECIPITATE stresses lack of due deliberation and implies prematureness of action.
e.g. the army's precipitate withdrawal
HEADLONG stresses rashness and lack of forethought.
e.g. a headlong flight from arrest
ABRUPT stresses curtness and a lack of warning or ceremony.
e.g. an abrupt refusal
IMPETUOUS stresses extreme impatience or impulsiveness.
e.g. an impetuous lover proposing marriage
SUDDEN stresses unexpectedness and sharpness or violence of action.
e.g. flew into a sudden rage
verb |prəˈsipəˌtāt| with object
1. cause (an event or situation, typically one that is bad or undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely:
｟かたく｠ 〈事態･行為･人などが〉〈良くない結果･状態など〉を(いやおうなく)招く, 促す, 早める
e.g. the incident precipitated a political crisis.
cause to move suddenly and with force:
e.g. suddenly the ladder broke, precipitating them down into a heap.
(precipitate someone/something into) send someone or something suddenly into a particular state or condition:
〖～ A into B〗 (突然)A〈人･物〉をB〈状態〉に陥れる; 〖～ oneself〗 «…に» いきなり身を投じる «into» .
e.g. they were precipitated into a conflict for which they were quite unprepared.
2. Chemistry cause (a substance) to be deposited in solid form from a solution:
〘化〙 …を沈殿させる(out)
e.g. cell proteins were then precipitated and washed in 10% trichloroacetic acid.
cause (drops of moisture or particles of dust) to be deposited from the atmosphere or from a vapor or suspension:
〘気象〙 〈水蒸気〉を凝結させて(雨･雪･露として)降らす
e.g. excess moisture is precipitated as rain, fog, mist, or dew.
adjective |prəˈsipədət|
done, made, or acting suddenly or without careful consideration:
｟かたく･けなして｠ せっかちな, 拙速な; 向こう見ずな〈行動･決断･人など〉
e.g. I must apologize for my staff—their actions were precipitate.
(of an event or situation) occurring suddenly or abruptly:
e.g. a precipitate decline in cultural literacy.
noun |prəˈsipədət, prəˈsipəˌtāt| Chemistry
a substance precipitated from a solution.
〘化〙 沈殿物
DERIVATIVES
precipitable |prəˈsipədəb(ə)l| adjective
precipitately |prēˈsipədətlē, prəˈsipədətlē| adverb
precipitateness |priˈsipətətnəs| noun
precipitability noun
USAGE
The adjectives precipitate and precipitous are sometimes confused. Precipitate means ‘sudden, hasty’: a precipitate decision the fugitive's precipitate flight. Precipitous means ‘steep’: the precipitous slope of the mountain a precipitous decline in stock prices.
ORIGIN
early 16th century: from Latin praecipitat- ‘thrown headlong’, from the verb praecipitare, from praeceps, praecip(it)- ‘headlong’, from prae ‘before’ + caput ‘head’. The original sense of the verb was ‘hurl down, send violently’; hence ‘cause to move rapidly’, which gave rise to sense 1 (early 17th century).