Webster's English Dictionary

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quicken

Cross references:
  1. provoke               
 
quick.en \'kwik-*n\ \-(*-)nin\ \-(*-)n*r\ vb or quick.en.ing 1a: to make 
   alive : REVIVE  1b: to cause to be enlivened : STIMULATE  archaic  2a: 
   KINDLE  2b: to cause to burn more intensely  3: to make more rapid : 
   HASTEN, ACCELERATE {~edX her steps} 4a: to make (a curve) sharper  4b: to 
   make (a slope) steeper  1: to quicken something  2: to come to life; esp : 
   to enter into a phase of active growth a nd development {seeds ~ing in the 
   soil} 3: to reach the stage of gestation at which fetal motion is felt  4: 
   to shine more brightly {watched the dawn ~ing in the east } 5: to become 
   more rapid {her pulse ~ed at the sight} ke alive or lively. QUICKEN 
   stresses a sudden renewal of life or activity esp. in something inert; 
   ANIMATE emphasizes the imparting of motion or activity to what is 
   mechanical or artificial; ENLIVEN suggests a stimulus that arouses from 
   dullness or torpidity; VIVIFY implies a freshening or energizing through 
   renewal of vitality - quick.en.er n SYN syn QUICKEN, ANIMATE, ENLIVEN, 
   VIVIFY mean to ma