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hâter

to hasten, hurry

verb ah-TEH Rare

Origin: Old French haste (speed)

Usage Note

Hâter is often used reflexively: se hâter means to hurry up, making it a near-synonym of se dépêcher. Hâter (transitive) means to speed something up — hâter sa décision = to hasten one's decision. The circumflex on â signals an old 's' (cf. English 'haste').

Examples

"Il faut nous hâter avant la nuit."

Natural Translation

We must hurry before nightfall.

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