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exigency

[ek-si-juhn-see, ig-zij-uhn-]
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noun, plural ex·i·gen·cies.

exigent state or character; urgency.
Usually exigencies. the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition, etc.: the exigencies of city life.
a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy; emergency: He promised help in any exigency.

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RELATED WORDS

vicissitude, contingency, requirement, dilemma, distress, juncture, want, pass, need, plight, crisis, fix, scrape, jam, crossroad, duress, hardship, emergency, pressure, necessity

Nearby words

  1. exhortative,
  2. exhumation,
  3. exhume,
  4. exigeant,
  5. exigence,
  6. exigent,
  7. exigently,
  8. exigible,
  9. exiguity,
  10. exiguous
Also ex·i·gence.

Origin of exigency

From the Medieval Latin word exigentia, dating back to 1575–85. See exigent, -ency
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exigency

British Dictionary definitions for exigency

exigency

exigence (ˈɛksɪdʒəns)

noun plural -gencies or -gences

the state of being exigent; urgency
(often plural) an urgent demand; pressing requirement
an emergency
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for exigency

exigency

n.

1580s, from Middle French exigence, from Latin exigentia "urgency," from exigentem (nominative exigens), from exigere "to demand, require; drive out" (see exact (v.)). Related: Exigencies (1650s).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper