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How to Say "to accelerate" in Spanish

The most common Spanish word for “to accelerate” is “acelerar” — use 'acelerar' when referring to increasing the speed of physical movement, like a vehicle, or when making a process happen faster in a general sense..

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acelerar

/ah-seh-leh-rahr//aseleˈɾaɾ/

verbA2general
Use 'acelerar' when referring to increasing the speed of physical movement, like a vehicle, or when making a process happen faster in a general sense.
A bright red race car zooming fast along a curved track with motion lines behind it.

Examples

El coche tuvo que acelerar para no chocar.

The car had to accelerate to avoid a crash.

Tienes que acelerar para adelantar al otro coche.

You have to speed up to pass the other car.

La nueva ley va a acelerar el proceso de construcción.

The new law is going to speed up the construction process.

Siento que mi corazón se empieza a acelerar.

I feel like my heart is starting to race.

A Regular Friend

Acelerar follows the standard -ar pattern for all tenses. If you know how to conjugate 'hablar', you already know how to conjugate 'acelerar'!

Using it with 'se'

When you want to say your heart is racing or you are getting personally worked up, use the form 'acelerarse' (to get speeded up).

Speed up vs. Fast

Mistake: “Hacer más rápido el coche.”

Correction: Acelerar el coche.

apresurar

/ah-preh-soo-RAHR//apɾesuˈɾaɾ/

verbB1general
Use 'apresurar' when you need to make a specific task, process, or bureaucratic procedure happen sooner than planned.
A chef adding more wood to a fire under a boiling pot to make the water bubble faster.

Examples

Por favor, apresura la entrega del paquete.

Please, speed up the delivery of the package.

Debemos apresurar el trámite para obtener el pasaporte.

We must speed up the process to get the passport.

Ella apresuró el paso cuando empezó a llover.

She quickened her pace when it started to rain.

El director decidió apresurar la fecha de lanzamiento.

The director decided to move up the launch date.

Making something move faster

Use this word when you want to say you are speeding UP a task or a process. It acts directly on the object (like 'the project' or 'the pace').

Don't forget the 'a' with verbs

Mistake: “Apresuro terminar la tarea.”

Correction: Me apresuro a terminar la tarea. (If you are hurrying *to do* something, you usually use the reflexive 'apresurarse' followed by 'a').

General Speed vs. Specific Urgency

Learners often confuse 'acelerar' and 'apresurar' by using 'acelerar' for processes. Remember, 'acelerar' is for general speeding up or physical movement, while 'apresurar' specifically implies rushing a task to finish it sooner.

Related Translations

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