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say it: pri-SIP-i-tayt
precipitate is a verb, noun and adjective meaning "bring about abruptly". It carries 7 recorded senses.
separate as a fine suspension of solid particles
hurl or throw violently
“The bridge broke and precipitated the train into the river below”
done with very great haste and without due deliberation
“hasty marriage seldom proveth well”
“hasty makeshifts take the place of planning”
“rejected what was regarded as an overhasty plan for reconversion”
“wondered whether they had been rather precipitate in deposing the king”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for precipitate come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.