What does hasted mean?
Hasted is a literary verb form meaning that someone or something moved with exceptional speed, or that someone caused an action to be completed quickly. It can also describe time passing rapidly, as in the phrase “the years hasted away.” The form is the past tense and past participle of haste, an older and more expressive alternative to the modern hastened. Because hasted is more closely associated with narrative, poetry, and elevated prose, it may suggest urgency, drama, or a sweeping sense of movement. It remains understandable in formal English but would sound unusual in ordinary conversation, where hurried or hastened is normally preferred. The word can function transitively, describing the quick completion of work or preparations, and intransitively, describing a person or object moving rapidly. Its literary character gives it a vivid quality, but frequent use in informal speech would generally sound deliberately old-fashioned.
verbHasted is the past tense and past participle of the literary verb haste, meaning to move or cause something to move with great speed. It can also describe time passing quickly.
- Moved or proceeded with great speed.
- Caused to move or be completed with unusual speed or urgency.
- Passed quickly, especially when used of time.
"The ship hasted through the dark waters before the storm reached the coast."
"The messenger hasted through the forest, delivering the warning before midnight."
"As the years hasted away, the old customs gradually disappeared."
Hasted gives urgency an old-fashioned literary flair, as in a tale where a messenger hasted through the night.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hasted come from?
Hasted was formed in Middle English by adding the suffix -ed to haste. The related forms hasten and hasty developed through Old French and Middle English, reflecting the same long-standing vocabulary of speed and urgency. Hasted later became especially prominent in literary and poetic English, where its rhythm and associations with rapid movement suited descriptive and narrative writing.
How hasted is actually used
Hasted is literary, archaic, or poetic in tone rather than everyday modern English. Modern usage usually prefers hastened, though hasted can convey a more emphatic or narrative sense of speed.
Easily confused with hasted
Hastened is the standard modern past tense and past participle of hasten, while hasted is a literary form that can suggest unusual speed or urgency.