What does "precipitate" mean?
A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.
Precipitate
/pɹɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.
- Grammar: precipitate is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: a bit previous, abrupt, abrupt, accelerate.
- Useful contrasts: slow, dissolved species, dissolving.
- Usage evidence: The clouds thickened and it started to precipitate.
How to use "precipitate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "precipitate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "precipitate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "precipitate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "precipitate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "precipitate" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "a bit previous" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "precipitate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.
"As for the musculature it is a precipitate of Spirit and the signature of the cosmos is in it."
- 2 a precipitated solid substance in suspension or after settling or filtering wordnet
- 3 A solid that exits the liquid phase of a solution.
Verb
- 1 To make something happen suddenly and quickly. transitive
"to precipitate a journey, or a conflict"
- 2 separate as a fine suspension of solid particles wordnet
- 3 To throw an object or person from a great height. transitive
"In gallopping heedlessly along, with her eyes turned upwards, she had unwarily approached too near the bank; it had given way with her, and she and her horse had been precipitated to the pebbled margin of the river."
- 4 hurl or throw violently wordnet
- 5 To send violently into a certain state or condition. transitive
"we were precipitated into a conflict"
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 bring about abruptly wordnet
- 7 (chemistry) To come out of a liquid solution into solid form. intransitive
"Adding the acid will cause the salt to precipitate."
- 8 fall vertically, sharply, or headlong wordnet
- 9 (chemistry) To separate a substance out of a liquid solution into solid form. transitive
- 10 fall from clouds wordnet
- 11 To have water in the air fall to the ground, for example as rain, snow, sleet, or hail; be deposited as condensed droplets. intransitive
"It will precipitate tomorrow, but we don't know whether as rain or snow."
- 12 To cause (water in the air) to condense or fall to the ground. transitive
"The light vapour of the preceding evening had been precipitated by the cold."
- 13 To fall headlong. intransitive
- 14 To act too hastily; to be precipitous. intransitive
Adjective
- 1 headlong; falling steeply or vertically.
"When the full stores their ancient bounds disdain, / Precipitate the furious torrent flows."
- 2 Very steep; precipitous.
- 3 With a hasty impulse; hurried; headstrong.
"Though thoughtful far beyond your years, you are very inexperienced; and I would not have a preference that may originate in your little knowledge of others, or a romantic exaggeration of slight kindnesses, lead you into a precipitate union with me, unless you most seriously examine your own heart, and weigh the various consequences."
- 4 Moving with excessive speed or haste; overly hasty.
"The king was too precipitate in declaring war."
- 5 Performed very rapidly or abruptly.
"It had cost me a distinct psychological effort to do so, and now that I was shut inside I had a momentary longing for precipitate retreat."
Adjective
- 1 done with very great haste and without due deliberation wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The clouds thickened and it started to precipitate."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "precipitate"?
Common synonyms include: a bit previous, abrupt, abrupt, accelerate, accelerated, accelerated ecological decline.
How do you use "precipitate" in a sentence?
The clouds thickened and it started to precipitate.
How do you pronounce "precipitate"?
Pronounced /pɹɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Latin praecipitātus, perfect passive participle of praecipitō (“throw down, hurl down, throw headlong”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from praeceps (“head foremost, headlong”) (praecipit- in its oblique stem), from prae (“before”) + -ceps (“headed”).
Etymology 2
From Latin praecipitātus (see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more).
Etymology 3
From New Latin praecipitatum. Equivalent to Latin praecipitō + -ate (noun-forming suffix).