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.