Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Precipitate \Pre*cip"i*tate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Precipitated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Precipitating}.]
   1. To throw headlong; to cast down from a precipice or
      height.

            She and her horse had been precipitated to the
            pebbled region of the river.          --W. Irving.

   2. To urge or press on with eager haste or violence; to cause
      to happen, or come to a crisis, suddenly or too soon; as,
      precipitate a journey, or a conflict.

            Back to his sight precipitates her steps. --Glover.

            If they be daring, it may precipitate their designs,
            and prove dangerous.                  --Bacon.

   3. (Chem.) To separate from a solution, or other medium, in
      the form of a precipitate; as, water precipitates camphor
      when in solution with alcohol.

            The light vapor of the preceding evening had been
            precipitated by the cold.             --W. Irving.

Source : WordNet®

precipitating
     adj : bringing on suddenly or abruptly; "the completion of the
           railroad was the precipitating cause in the extinction
           of water-borne commerce" [syn: {precipitating(a)}]