Hastigkeit

Hastigkeit is a German noun that denotes the state or quality of being hasty, quick, or hurried. It encompasses both a natural tendency toward speed and the effects of operating under time pressure, and it is often associated with carelessness or impulsiveness when speed overrides deliberation.

Etymologically, hastig means hasty, and the suffix -keit turns the adjective into a noun describing a characteristic. In practice, Hastigkeit sits within a semantic field that includes hast, Eile, and Ungeduld, with nuanced differences in connotation and usage. Hastigkeit emphasizes not only speed but also the resulting disposition or habit of acting quickly.

In contemporary usage, Hastigkeit is more common in formal, literary, or analytical contexts than in everyday speech. People typically prefer Eile or Schnelligkeit to describe speed, while Hastigkeit may appear to carry a more evaluative or stylistic tone, sometimes highlighting a morally or practically problematic urgency.

In psychology and decision research, hastiness is studied as part of behavior under time pressure. Speed-accuracy trade-offs describe how increasing speed can raise the likelihood of errors or omissions, whereas careful deliberation can improve accuracy. Hastigkeit thus serves as a linguistic marker for discussions about impulsivity, risk, and the cognitive costs of rapid action.

See also: Hast, Eile, Ungeduld, Zeitdruck, Impulsivität. Example: Unter Zeitdruck neigte er zur Hastigkeit.