urgent

[ ur-juhnt ]

adjective

1. compelling or requiring immediate action or attention; dire; pressing:

   an urgent matter.

   Synonyms: desperate, imperative

2. insistent or earnest in solicitation; importunate, as a person:

   an urgent pleader.

3. expressed with insistence, as requests or appeals:

   an urgent tone of voice.

urgent

/ ˈɜːdʒənt; ˈɜːdʒənsɪ /

adjective

1. requiring or compelling speedy action or attention

   the matter is urgent

   an urgent message

2. earnest and persistent

Derived Forms

• ˈurgently, adverb
• urgency, noun

Other Words From

• ur·gent·ly adverb
• non·ur·gent adjective
• su·per·ur·gent adjective
• un·ur·gent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of urgent¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; from Latin urgent- (stem of urgēns ), present participle of urgēre “to press, force, drive”; urge, -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of urgent¹

C15: via French from Latin urgent-, urgens, present participle of urgēre to urge

Example Sentences

There are many problems plaguing California at the moment that demand urgent attention.

From Voice of San Diego

Nothing is that urgent, and if it is, your team will call or text you.

From Fortune

The more obvious something seems, the more urgent the need to question it.

From Fortune

Sustainability isn’t just an urgent ethical issue — it sells.

From Digiday

“Agencies recognize that there’s an urgent need to envision themselves as a group that values diversity but they’re not there yet,” said Nandi Welch, co-founder and head of business strategy for the brand consultancy Rupture.

From Digiday

The need for increased community policing is more urgent than ever before.

From The Daily Beast

“The recent earthquakes make this project urgent,” Franceschini told reporters.

From The Daily Beast

Then, depending on how urgent I think it is to get it, sometimes I have to go back home and drop it off.

From The Daily Beast

Is there anyone who thinks the urgent problem we need to solve in Washington, D.C. is how to allow more spending on campaigns?

From The Daily Beast

We need to strike a balance between creating false alarms and letting any urgent medical matters fall through the cracks.

From The Daily Beast

They are very urgent questions; our sons and daughters will have to begin to deal with them from the moment they leave college.

From Project Gutenberg

Nor is there anyone of that order who talks of going back to those kingdoms without the most urgent reason making it necessary.

From Project Gutenberg

I humbly petition your Majesty to be pleased to order that he be despatched here, so that this so urgent need may be supplied.

From Project Gutenberg

Never again would she ignore an urgent telegram, though she did not believe that this telegram had any real importance.

From Project Gutenberg

In the first place, there is an immediate and urgent demand for at least Half a Million comfortable rain-proof dwellings.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• compelling
• critical
• crucial
• demanding
• essential
• immediate
• imperative
• important
• indispensable
• necessary
• persuasive
• pressing
• serious
• vital
• weighty