Word Explorer
Children's
Dictionary Suite
Help
Help
Help
Beginner's Dictionary
     
Lookup History
accelerate

ac·cel·er·ate

accelerate

 
 
pronunciation:
ihk se lr eIt
features:
Word Builder, Word Explorer, Word Parts
part of speech: verb
inflections: accelerates, accelerating, accelerated
definition: to make something go faster.
The driver accelerated the car.
See a movie for this meaning
 
antonyms:
slow
similar words:
race, urge
derivation: accelerative (adj.)
Word Builder: accelerate +
  • accelerator:
    a device that increases the speed of something, such as the gas pedal in a car.
Word Explorer
See
  physics
Word Parts  About this feature
The word accelerate contains the following parts:
ac- Latin prefix that means to, toward
Show wordsHide wordsMore about this word part:
The prefix ac- occurs in Latin loanwords. It is an assimilated form of ad- used before Latin roots beginning with hard or soft "c" or "q." See ad-.
celer Latin root that means swift
Show wordsHide wordsExample words:
-ate1 Latin verb-forming suffix that means to make, cause, do
Show wordsHide wordsMore about this word part:
The suffix -ate primarily forms transitive verbs from Latin bases. Many -ate verbs were loanwords from Latin. Verbs ending in -ate combine with the suffix -ion to form nouns ending in -ation. These verbs also have corresponding agent nouns ending in -ator (navigator, dictator, elevator).