quickened

1 definition found

quickened - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Quicken \Quick"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. quickened; p. pr. &
     vb. n. Quickening.] [AS. cwician. See Quick, a.]
     1. To make alive; to vivify; to revive or resuscitate, as
        from death or an inanimate state; hence, to excite; to,
        stimulate; to incite.
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              The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead.
                                                    --Shak.
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              Like a fruitful garden without an hedge, that
              quickens the appetite to enjoy so tempting a prize.
                                                    -- South.
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     2. To make lively, active, or sprightly; to impart additional
        energy to; to stimulate; to make quick or rapid; to
        hasten; to accelerate; as, to quicken one's steps or
        thoughts; to quicken one's departure or speed.
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     3. (Shipbuilding) To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make
        (a curve) sharper; as, to quicken the sheer, that is, to
        make its curve more pronounced.
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     Syn: To revive; resuscitate; animate; reinvigorate; vivify;
          refresh; stimulate; sharpen; incite; hasten; accelerate;
          expedite; dispatch; speed.
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