All 3 Uses of
precipitate
in
Washington Square, by Henry James
- The prize was certainly great; but it was only to be won by striking the happy mean between precipitancy and caution.†
Chpt 22 *
- This was about the time Catherine had reached her eighteenth year, so that it will be seen her father had not been precipitate.†
Chpt 2
- The Doctor thought it very vulgar to be precipitate in accusing people of mercenary motives, inasmuch as his door had as yet not been in the least besieged by fortune-hunters; and, lastly, he was very curious to see whether Catherine might really be loved for her moral worth.†
Chpt 7
Definitions:
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(1)
(precipitate as in: a precipitate decision) acting with great haste -- often without adequate thought
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(2)
(precipitate as in: it precipitated a revolution) make something happen or to fall or move -- typically suddenly and often of something undesired
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(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In chemistry, the verb form denotes separating solids from a solution; while the noun form references the solid particles in such a solution. It is from this sense that meteorologists refer to rain or snow as precipitation.
In classic literature, the word is sometimes used as a verb to indicated falling from a high spot such as "a false step could precipitate them down off the cliff," or throwing as in "If they attempt to precipitate themselves upon him...".