precipitant
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precipitant
- /prɪˈsɪpɪt(ə)nt/ UK
- /priˈsɪpətənt/ US
- /prə-/ US
- [-ɾənt] US
Where it comes from
The adjective is borrowed from Middle French précipitant, Old French precipitant (“acting hastily, hasty, rash; acting, happening, or moving rapidly; pressing”) (modern French précipitant), and from their etymon Late Latin praecipitans (“hasty, rash”), an adjective use of Latin praecipitāns, the present participle of praecipitō (“to cast down; to throw headlong”), from praeceps (“head first, headlong; (figurative) hasty, rash”) (from prae (“before; in front”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before; in front”)) + -ceps (suffix meaning ‘having a head with specified characteristics’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“a head”))).
The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.
adjective more precipitant · most precipitant
-
Inclined to make rapid decisions without due consideration; hasty, impulsive, rash.
[T]heſe dreams the præcipitant and unskilfull are forvvard to conceit to be Repreſentations extraordinary and ſupernatural, vvhich they call Revelations or Viſions, of vvhich there can be no certainty at all no more then of a Dream.
Similar: heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, daring, devil-may-care, headstrong, imprudent, impulsive, precipitant, precipitate, precipitous, quick-and-dirty
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Of a fall: straight downwards; headlong.
[W]ithout further pauſe / Down right into the Worlds firſt Region throws / His flight precipitant, and windes with eaſe / Through the pure marble Air his oblique way / Amongſt innumerable Starrs, […]
Similar: precipitate
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Acting, happening, or moving quickly; fast, rapid, swift; also, abrupt, sudden, unexpected.
[W]ere the Aer copiouſly mixed vvith the Sap here, as in the Pith, Fruit, and other Parenchymous Parts; it vvould give ſo quick a Ferment to the Sap, as to dilate and amplify the Bladders of the Seed, beyond its preſent compact and durable Texture; and ſo expoſe it, either to a precipitant Grovvth,
Similar: cursory, express, fast, expeditious, feverish, fleet, fleeting, greased lightning, hasty, hectic, hectical, hyperactive · Opposite: crawling, slack, slow-moving, languid, languorous, draggy, tardy, creeping, dreich, gastropodous, glacial, heavy-footed
- That causes precipitation (“formation of a heavier solid in a lighter liquid as a result of a chemical reaction”).
adverb more precipitant · most precipitant
-
Synonym of precipitantly (“in a precipitant or headlong manner; with foolish or rash haste”).
The Hoary Froſts, and Northern Blaſts take care / Thy muddy Bev'rage to ſerene, and drive / Præcipitant the baſer, ropy Lees.
Similar: precipitantly
noun precipitants
- Something which causes or hastens the occurrence of an act or event; specifically (chiefly psychology), something which brings about a mental or physiological condition.
- A substance that, when added to a solution, causes a dissolved substance to form a precipitate. [B]y putting ſome of the arſenical liquor into a ſtrong ſolution of common ſublimate made in fair vvater […] vve had a copious precipitate, ſuch as might have been expected from an alcaline precipitant; […]
Talk about this word "precipitant." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/precipitant. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. precipitant. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/precipitant "precipitant." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/precipitant.Cite this
@misc{precipitant_2026,
title = {precipitant},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/precipitant},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
