‘Hurry’ vs  ‘In a Hurry' and Their Synonyms

‘Hurry’ vs ‘In a Hurry’ and Their Synonyms

If you mix ‘hurry’ and ‘in a hurry’ you’ll find this post helpful.

1. ‘Hurry’ as a verb
‘Hurry’ vs  ‘In a Hurry' and Their Synonyms
‘Hurry’ is a verb that means ‘to do things more quickly than normal’ or ‘make someone do this’.

You hurry when you don’t want to be late.
If someone hurries, they may forget something.

In the past form, the verb changes to ‘hurried’: ed + I as it ends with the ‘y’ letter.

Even though she hurried, she didn’t catch the train. (She was late for the train).

There’s also a phrasal verb ‘hurry up’ that has the same meaning as ‘hurry’.

I need to hurry up or I’ll miss the train. 

hurry up

2. ‘Hurry’ as a noun

What does ‘in a hurry’ mean then? In this sentence ‘hurry’ is a noun like ‘food’ or ‘cat’.

It’s often used as a set expression ‘in a hurry’. You can be in a hurry or do something in a hurry.

When you have a lot of time you can say “I’m in no hurry”.

Or you can ask someone who hurries you up: “What’s the hurry? We’ve got plenty of time!”

3. The synonyms for ‘hurry’

Rush
It can be used as a synonym for ‘hurry’ as a verb and as a noun.
If someone hurries you, you can say “Don’t rush me!”.
And if you are in a hurry, you can also say “I’m in a rush”.

Rush hour
There’s also a set expression ‘rush hour’ that describes a busy part of a day when everyone goes to work or goes back home from work.

‘Hurry’ vs  ‘In a Hurry' and Their Synonyms

It’s usually used in the singular form and prepositions ‘during’, ‘in’, and ‘at’.
You can face rush hour traffic. And it’s never a good idea to go somewhere during rush hour.

Haste
If people do something ‘in haste’ they do it too quickly or ‘in a hurry’.

‘Haste’ is a noun. So it behaves as a noun in a sentence. You can say that ‘she didn’t want to marry in haste’ or “In spite of all their haste, they didn’t have time to finish the decoration”.

‘Hasty’ and ‘hastily’
There are also two related words that are worth mentioning in this post: ‘hasty’ and ‘hastily’.

When you don’t want to make a decision in haste you can also say that you don’t want to make a hasty decision. Hasty is an adjective (what kind of decision?)

‘Hurry’ vs  ‘In a Hurry' and Their Synonyms

If things happen in a hurry you can say that they happen hastily. Hastily is an adverb (How quickly things happen).

I hope it helps. Feel free to make your own examples in the comments or ask about other words or grammar items that you find confusing. Please use this form to submit your questions

Additional resources for ‘hurry’:

Rush definition

Hurry definition

Rush hour definition

Haste definition

In a hurry meaning

Vika
Posts created 124

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