acceleration
accelerations
Acceleration is the act of increasing speed. When you buy a sports car, you want one that has great acceleration, so it can go from zero to 60 miles an hour in no time.
Acceleration comes from the Latin word accelerationem, which means "a hastening." When you hasten, you hurry, so acceleration is a speeding-up. Maybe you are walking to an appointment and realize you will be late. You pick up your pace — that's acceleration. If the rain on a stormy day begins to come down faster, that too is acceleration. As you can see, acceleration isn't just for cars.
Definitions of acceleration
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an increase in rate of change“modern science caused an acceleration of cultural change”
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Antonyms:
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deceleration, retardation, slowing
a decrease in rate of change
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types:
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getaway, pickup
the attribute of being capable of rapid acceleration
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precipitation
an unexpected acceleration or hastening
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type of:
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alteration, change, modification
an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another
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deceleration, retardation, slowing
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the act of accelerating; increasing the speed
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synonyms:
quickening, speedup
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Antonyms:
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deceleration
the act of decelerating; decreasing the speed
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deceleration
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(physics) a rate of increase of velocity
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Antonyms:
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deceleration
(physics) a rate of decrease in velocity
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types:
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angular acceleration
(physics) the rate of change of the angular velocity of a rotating body
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centripetal acceleration
the acceleration toward the center that holds a satellite in elliptical orbit
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type of:
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rate
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
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deceleration
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘acceleration'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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