acelerar
/a.se.leˈɾa(ʁ)/
To speed up in Portuguese is acelerar.
The verb acelerar means to increase speed. It can be used intransitively, to describe something increasing its own speed or transitively, to describe making something else go faster.
Meaning: increase speed (intransitive) (verb)
Which one should you use?
While acelerar is the standard term for increasing speed, you can use incrementar specifically to denote speeding up a process. If you want to convey a sense of urgency or speeding up a specific task, despachar is a suitable choice. For the personal action of hurrying, use apressar-se.
How does it change in a sentence?
The third-person singular past tense of acelerar is acelerou (sped up / accelerated), and the gerund form is acelerando (speeding up / accelerating). The related noun form is aceleração (acceleration).
How do you pronounce it?
/a.se.leˈɾa(ʁ)/. It has 4 syllables, and the stress is on the 4th syllable.
Did you know?
- In Brazil, acelerar is sometimes used as slang for consuming stimulants or drugs to 'speed up' the nervous system.
- The word acelerar is a learned borrowing from the Latin accelerāre, meaning it was reintroduced into the language by scholars rather than evolving naturally from Vulgar Latin.
- In Brazilian Portuguese, acelerar can be used as slang to encourage someone to make a decision or take action, functioning much like the English expression 'step on it'.
Examples in context
- O ar vai acelerar a secagem.The air will speed up the drying.This sentence shows how to use acelerar regarding a physical process.Tatoeba #8613036 by carlosalberto, translation #9706263 by DJ_Saidez
- Os astrónomos sugerem que a utilização das técnicas de validação que eles desenvolveram poderá ajudar a acelerar a confirmação de mais candidatos a planetas extrassolares.The astronomers suggest that using the validation techniques they developed could help speed up the confirmation of more extrasolar planet candidates.This sentence demonstrates how acelerar is used to describe speeding up a scientific confirmation process.Tatoeba #11375815 by Cangarejo, translation #11375811 by Cangarejo
- Por favor, acelere o processo de envioPlease speed up the delivery process
- É necessário incrementar a produção para finalizar o projeto mais rapidamenteIt is necessary to speed up production to finish the project more quickly
- Por favor, apresse-se um poucoPlease hurry a bit
- Preciso me despachar para chegar a tempoI need to hurry up to arrive on time
- Manda ver nessa tarefa para terminarmos mais rápidoGo for it on this task so we can finish faster
- O motor começou a acelerar de repente.The engine suddenly began to speed up.
Example conversation
Two friends are driving to a movie on time.
- MarianaLucas, precisamos acelerar ou vamos perder o filme.Lucas, we need to speed up or we will miss the movie.
- LucasEu já estou tentando, mas o trânsito está ruim.I am already trying, but the traffic is bad.
- MarianaTente acelerar um pouco mais assim que puder.Try to speed up a bit more as soon as you can.
- LucasTudo bem, vou tentar ganhar tempo.Alright, I will try to make up time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry acelerar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries acelerar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
