To drive forcibly cause to hasten onward.To cause to fall as a sediment to the bottom of a vessel reduce from a state of solution to a solid form, as by means of a reagent or chemical force.To cast down headlong fling from a precipice or height hurl downward.noun In Chem., any substance which, having been dissolved in a fluid, falls to the bottom of the vessel on the addition of some other substance capable of producing decomposition of the compound.Synonyms and Precipitous now always expresses the physical attribute of a headlong steepness precipitate the moral quality of being very hasty or overhasty.Hastily brought to pass speedy hurried sudden.Hasty acting without due deliberation rash.Hurled headlong plunging or rushing down, as by a steep descent headlong.noun An abbreviated term sometimes used to signify the bright yellow precipitate of ammonium phosphomolybdate frequently obtained in analysis as a proof of the presence of, or as the means of quantitatively determining, phosphorus or the radical of phosphoric acid and phosphates.noun Fusible white precipitate, colorless crystals, soluble in water (probably of the composition NHg 2C1.3NH 4Cl), which melt and then decompose on being heated: produced by boiling the infusible white precipitate with a solution of ammonium chlorid.noun A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.noun Chemistry A solid or solid phase separated from a solution.adjective Occurring suddenly or unexpectedly.adjective Acting with or marked by excessive haste and lack of due deliberation.adjective Moving rapidly and heedlessly speeding headlong.intransitive verb Chemistry To be separated from a solution as a solid.
intransitive verb To cause to happen, especially suddenly or prematurely.All rights reserved.From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition. In our 2004 survey, 65 percent accepted the sentence Pressure to marry may cause precipitous decision-making that is not grounded in the reality of who you are and what you want from life.įarlex Trivia Dictionary. In fact, a majority of the Usage Panel now accepts this usage. After all a precipitous increase in reports of measles is also an abrupt or sudden event. Many people object to this usage out of a desire to keep precipitate and precipitous distinct, but the extension of meaning from "steep" to "abrupt" is perfectly natural. 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. Precipitous currently means "steep" in both literal and figurative senses: the precipitous rapids of the upper river a precipitous drop in commodity prices. 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.
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