Webster's English Dictionary

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precipitate

1. pre.cip.i.tate \pri-'sip-*-.ta-t\ \-.ta-t-iv\ \-.ta-t-*r\ vb [L 
   praecipitatus, pp. of praecipitare, fr. praecipit-, pra]eceps 1a: to throw 
   violently : HURL  1b: to throw down  2a: to urge or press on with haste or 
   violence  2b: to bring on abruptly  3a: to cause to separate from solution 
   or suspension  3b: to cause (vapor) to condense and fall or deposit  1a: to 
   fall headlong  1b: to fall or come suddenly into some condition  2: to move 
   or act precipitately  3a: to separate from solution or suspension  3b: to 
   condense from a vapor and fall as rain or snow  - pre.cip.i.ta.tive aj
2. pre.cip.i.tate \pri-'sip-*t-*t, -*-.ta-t\ n [NL praecipitatum, fr. L, 
   neut. of praecipitatus] 1: a substance separated from a solution or 
   suspension by chemical or physi cal change usu. as an insoluble amorphous 
   or crystalline solid 2: a product, result, or outcome of some process or 
   action 
3. pre.cip.i.tate \pri-'sip-*t-*t\ aj 1: exhibiting violent or unwise speed 
   : RASH  2a: falling, flowing, or rushing with steep descent  2b: 
   PRECIPITOUS MSUDDEN mean showing undue haste or unexpectedness. PRECIPITATE 
   and HEADLONG imply rashness and lack of forethought, PRECIPITATE applying 
   usu. to actions or decisions, HEADLONG to persons or qualities; ABRUPT 
   stresses curtness and lack of warning or intimation; IMPETUOUS implies 
   vehement impatience or impulsiveness; \SUDDEN stresses unexpectedness and 
   sharpness or violence of action - pre.cip.i.tate.ly av SYN syn PRECIPITATE, 
   HEADLONG, ABRUPT, IMPETUOUS,