exigent

[ek-si-juh nt]

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adjective

requiring immediate action or aid; urgent; pressing.

requiring a great deal, or more than is reasonable.

Origin of exigent

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin exigent- (stem of exigēns) (present participle of exigere to drive out, demand), equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + -ig- (combining form of agere to drive) + -ent- -ent

Related formsex·i·gent·ly, adverbnon·ex·i·gent, adjectivenon·ex·i·gent·ly, adverbun·ex·i·gent, adjectiveun·ex·i·gent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for exigent

acute, burning, clamant, clamorous, critical, crucial, crying, imperative, importunate, insistent, instant, menacing, necessary, threatening, needful, arduous, burdensome, demanding, exacting, grievous

Examples from the Web for exigent

Historical Examples of exigent

Charles immediately revealed the full and exigent nature of his demands.
The Life of Cesare Borgia
Raphael Sabatini
In that case perhaps M. Bertrand des Amis would not be too exigent.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
But you are too exigent, monsieur; you assume the husband, and you tease me.
White Lies
Charles Reade
Are we too exigent when we implore the whites to preach by example?
South America To-day
Georges Clemenceau
So exigent were the needs of the service, he could "run" with impunity.
The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore
John R. Hutchinson

British Dictionary definitions for exigent

exigent

adjective

urgent; pressing

exacting; demanding

Derived Formsexigently, adverb

Word Origin for exigent

C15: from Latin exigere to drive out, weigh out, from agere to drive, compel

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 exigent

adj.

1660s, "urgent," a back-formation from exigency or else from Latin exigentem (nominative exigens), present participle of exigere "to demand" (see exact (v.)).