expedient
Americanadjective
-
tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances.
It is expedient that you go.
- Synonyms:
- profitable, advantageous, desirable, appropriate, advisable
- Antonyms:
- disadvantageous
-
conducive to advantage or interest, as opposed to right.
-
acting in accordance with expediency, or what is advantageous.
noun
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- resort, contrivance, device
adjective
-
suitable to the circumstances; appropriate
-
inclined towards methods or means that are advantageous rather than fair or just
noun
Other Word Forms
- expediently adverb
- nonexpedient adjective
- nonexpediently adverb
- quasi-expedient adjective
- quasi-expediently adverb
- unexpedient adjective
- unexpediently adverb
Etymology
Origin of expedient
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin expedient- (stem of expediēns ), present participle of expedīre. See expedite, -ent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jackie Robinson: “To build for leadership, one must base his standing on what is right, not what is expedient.”
From Los Angeles Times
I’m momentarily reminded of the daughter of a British greengrocer, Margaret Thatcher, who, early in her political career, established her economic credentials by the simple expedient of knowing the price of butter.
People will readily share their data — even when it comes to their health — for things they value, like better service, cheaper prices, and expedient convenience.
From MarketWatch
One expedient way to get more done is, he suggests, to turn deliberate intentions into defaults: “Activities you once had to muster the motivation to do will, given enough repetition, become habits.”
This provided a “logical and most expedient opportunity” to get more info on what documents existed and pave the way for a consent search.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
