expedient
[ik-spee-dee-uh nt]
- tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances: It is expedient that you go.
- conducive to advantage or interest, as opposed to right.
- acting in accordance with expediency, or what is advantageous.
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- a means to an end: The ladder was a useful expedient for getting to the second floor.
- a means devised or employed in an exigency; resource; shift: Use any expedients you think necessary to get over the obstacles in your way.
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Origin of expedient
Synonyms
See more synonyms for expedient on Thesaurus.com1. advisable, appropriate, desirable; advantageous, profitable. 5. device, contrivance, resort.
Antonyms
1. disadvantageous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for expedient
Contemporary Examples
It was the result of a chain of good decisions—wise, prudent, long-sighted, or, at the least, expedient choices.
Obama noted Thursday that both sides in the conflict blame the U.S., a popular and expedient political tactic in Egypt.
And because “it is very tempting to a minister to employ such an expedient…the practice will…be abused, in every government.”
That tape will prove far more persuasive than any expedient and mealy mouthed evasions.
It is not language framing a political vision; it is a campaign slogan serving an expedient purpose.
Historical Examples
Captain Baker applied himself to this task, and used every expedient.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
This expedient, however, nearly proved fatal in its consequences.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
No need then of the expedient of pursuing your needleworks in her sight.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
This: It is useless to talk or to think unless it is also possible and expedient to act.
The Truth About WomanC. Gasquoine Hartley
For the expedient has to do with the future, about which we are liable to mistake.
TheaetetusPlato
expedient
- suitable to the circumstances; appropriate
- inclined towards methods or means that are advantageous rather than fair or just
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- something suitable or appropriate, esp something used during an urgent situation
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin expediēns setting free; see expedite
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for expedient
adj.
late 14c., "advantageous, fit, proper," from Old French expedient (14c.) or directly from Latin expedientem (nominative expediens) "beneficial," present participle of expedire "make fit or ready, prepare" (see expedite).
The noun meaning "a device adopted in an exigency, a resource" is from 1650s. Related: Expediential (1836); expedientially (1873); expediently (late 14c.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper