The Collaborative International Dictionary
Haste \Haste\ (h[=a]st), n. [OE. hast; akin to D. haast, G., Dan., Sw., & OFries. hast, cf. OF. haste, F. h[^a]te (of German origin); all perh. fr. the root of E. hate in a earlier sense of, to pursue. See Hate.]
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Celerity of motion; speed; swiftness; dispatch; expedition; -- applied only to voluntary beings, as men and other animals.
The king's business required haste.
--1 Sam. xxi. 8. -
The state of being urged or pressed by business; hurry; urgency; sudden excitement of feeling or passion; precipitance; vehemence.
I said in my haste, All men are liars.
--Ps. cxvi. 11.To make haste, to hasten.
Syn: Speed; quickness; nimbleness; swiftness; expedition; dispatch; hurry; precipitance; vehemence; precipitation.
Usage: Haste, Hurry, Speed, Dispatch. Haste denotes quickness of action and a strong desire for getting on; hurry includes a confusion and want of collected thought not implied in haste; speed denotes the actual progress which is made; dispatch, the promptitude and rapidity with which things are done. A man may properly be in haste, but never in a hurry. Speed usually secures dispatch.