quickens


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quick·en

 (kwĭk′ən)
v. quick·ened, quick·en·ing, quick·ens
v.tr.
1. To make more rapid: Stress quickens the pulse.
2. To cause (a body or soul, for example) to become alive; vitalize.
3. To excite and stimulate; stir: Such stories quicken the imagination.
v.intr.
1. To become more rapid. See Synonyms at speed.
2. To come or return to life, as a soul.
3. To become excited or stimulated: Our interest in the project has quickened.
4. To reach the stage of pregnancy when the fetus can be felt to move.

quick′en·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
See if I do not prick your neck with my sting." The Draught-Mule replied, "I do not heed your threats; I only care for him who sits above you, and who quickens my pace with his whip, or holds me back with the reins.
He urged on his mare, and to his delight felt that she easily quickened her pace, and the thud of Gladiator's hoofs was again heard at the same distance away.
But whenever my consciousness was quickened, all those early friends were quickened within it, and in some strange way they accompanied me through all my new experiences.