quicken meaning

The word ‘quicken’ means to make something faster or more active.

quicken :

to speed up, to make faster

Verb

▪ The runner quickened his pace.

▪ The runner made his pace faster.

▪ She quickened her steps to catch the bus.

▪ She made her steps faster to catch the bus.

paraphrasing

▪ accelerate – to speed up

▪ hasten – to make happen sooner

▪ speed up – to go faster

▪ increase – to make more

quicken

Pronunciation

quicken [ˈkwɪk.ən]

The stress is on 'quick' and sounds like 'kwik-en'.

Common phrases and grammar about quicken

quicken - Common meaning

Verb
to speed up, to make faster

Part of Speech Changes for "quicken"

▪ quick (adjective) – fast or speedy

▪ quickly (adverb) – in a fast manner

▪ quickness (noun) – the state of being fast

Common Expressions with "quicken"

▪ quicken the pace – to make the speed faster

▪ quicken the process – to make the process faster

▪ quicken one's heartbeat – to make the heartbeat faster

▪ quicken interest – to make interest grow faster

Important examples of quicken in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC vocabulary questions, quicken often means to speed up a process or action.

▪The manager quickened the approval process.
▪The manager sped up the approval process.

Example of a confusing word: weaken (to make less strong)

▪The manager weakened the approval process.
▪The manager made the approval process less strong.
"Quicken" means "to accelerate" or "speed up" something, such as a process or action. In the sentence "The manager quickened the approval process," it is used correctly to indicate making the process faster. "Weaken," however, means "to make something less strong or effective" and is not appropriate in this context, as it changes the intended meaning entirely. Using "weaken" here would imply reducing the strength or effectiveness of the process, which does not fit the context of speeding up. Thus, "quicken" is the correct choice.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

Quicken is often used as a transitive verb, requiring an object, in TOEIC grammar questions.

▪They quickened the production schedule.
▪They made the production schedule faster.

quicken

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

quicken the pace

'speed up the speed', often used in business or personal development contexts.

▪We need to quicken the pace of work.
▪We need to speed up the work.

quicken one's pulse

means 'to make one's heart beat faster', used in both literal and figurative senses.

▪The exciting news quickened her pulse.
▪The exciting news made her heart beat faster.

Differences between similar words and quicken

quicken

,

accelerate

differences

Quicken means to make something faster, while accelerate often refers to increasing speed over time.

quicken
▪She quickened her steps to the door.
▪She made her steps faster to the door.
accelerate
▪The car accelerated on the highway.
▪The car increased its speed on the highway.

quicken

,

hasten

differences

Quicken means to make something faster, while hasten often implies urgency or necessity.

quicken
▪He quickened his pace to catch the train.
▪She hurried to finish her work before the deadline.
hasten
▪She hastened to finish her work before the deadline.
▪She hurried to finish her work before the deadline.

Words with the same origin as quicken

The origin of quicken

The word quicken originates from the Old English 'cwic', meaning alive, and evolved to mean making something faster or more lively.

Word structure

It has the root 'quick' (alive or fast) and the suffix 'en' (to make), meaning 'to make fast'.

Words with the same origin

The root of quicken is 'quick'. Words with the same root include quick (fast), quickness (speed).

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