Apressado

Apressado is a Portuguese adjective that describes someone or something acting with haste or in a hurried manner. It can refer to a person who moves quickly, makes decisions rapidly, or performs tasks under time pressure, as well as to actions or outcomes that are done with little delay.

The term is used in both Portugal and Brazil and can carry neutral or pejorative nuances depending on the context. When describing a person, apressado may imply impatience or lack of consideration, but in some situations it simply denotes urgency or efficiency. In combination with verbs, it often appears with reflexive usage, as in apressar-se, meaning to hurry oneself.

Etymologically, apressado derives from the verb apressar, which is related to pressar or to press, with the prefix a- intensifying the sense of hastening. The related adverb is apressadamente, used to qualify how something is done. The feminine form is apressada and the plural forms are apressados (masculine) and apressadas (feminine).

Common collocations include chegar apressado (to arrive in a hurry), agir apressadamente (to act hastily), and não haver tempo to express a lack of time rather than speed. Related but distinct terms include apressar (to hurry someone or something) and pressa (hurry, haste), which can function as a noun.

Examples:

Ele chegou apressado à reunião.

Ela escreveu a resposta apressadamente, por falta de tempo.