1. To make more rapid: Stress quickens the pulse.

2. To cause (a body or soul, for example) to become alive; vitalize.

3. To excite and stimulate; stir: Such stories quicken the imagination.

1. To become more rapid. See Synonyms at speed.

2. To come or return to life, as a soul.

3. To become excited or stimulated: Our interest in the project has quickened.

4. To reach the stage of pregnancy when the fetus can be felt to move.