What does festinate mean?
"Festinate" is a formal, literary adjective meaning hasty, hurried, or done with excessive speed. Borrowed into English in the early seventeenth century directly from Latin festinatus, the past participle of festinare, "to hurry," it carries a slightly clinical or bookish tone that sets it apart from everyday synonyms such as "hasty" or "rushed." Calling a decision, an apology, or a departure festinate suggests not merely quickness but an unseemly, ill-considered haste — speed at the expense of care. The word survives most actively in its noun derivative "festination," which medicine uses to describe an involuntary, accelerating, shuffling gait seen in Parkinson's disease, where the body seems to chase its own forward lean. Though rarely encountered in ordinary conversation, festinate rewards writers seeking a precise, Latinate way to condemn haste itself, and it offers readers an elegant reminder that English preserves even its most recondite Latin borrowings.
Hasty, hurried, or done with excessive speed.
"His festinate exit suggested he had somewhere far more pressing to be."
Rare and formal; primarily found in literary or archaic prose.
To hasten or accelerate; to cause to move or be done more quickly.
"They festinated their preparations when news of the storm arrived."
A much rarer usage than the adjectival sense.
"Festinate" comes straight from Latin festinare, the same verb Roman doctors used for a racing pulse — and its cousin "festination" is still used today to describe the shuffling, hurrying gait of Parkinson's disease.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of festinate
"Festinate" derives from the Latin adjective festinatus, past participle of the verb festinare, meaning "to hasten" or "to hurry." The word entered English in the early seventeenth century as a learned, direct borrowing from Latin. Its closest surviving English relative is "festination," a medical term describing an involuntary hurrying gait, which shares the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How festinate is actually used
"Festinate" is a rare, formal, and somewhat literary word; it appears mainly in elevated writing or historical texts and may strike most readers as obscure. It can also function as a verb meaning "to hasten," though this use is rarer still.
Easily confused with festinate
"Festinate" means hurried or hasty, while "fester" means to become infected or to rankle and worsen over time — nearly opposite in spirit despite the similar sound.