precipitate

Universal Words verb, adjective, noun verb [VN] (formal) 1 to make sth, especially sth bad, happen suddenly or sooner than it should: His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 2 ~ sb/sth into sth to suddenly force sb/sth into a particular state or condition: The assassination of the president precipitated the country into war. adjective (formal) (of an action or a decision) happening very quickly or suddenly and usually without enough care and thought: the precipitate resignation of the director * To force a decision now would be precipitate. precipitately adverb: to act precipitately noun (chemistry) a solid substance that has been separated from a liquid in a chemical process: A yellow precipitate should form immediately.