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
Explanation
The adjective expedient describes something that provides an easy way to achieve a goal or result, but it's not necessarily a moral solution. Politically expedient means something you do to advance yourself politically. Use expedient when you want to hint that a particular solution or strategy has certain benefits and advantages but is not completely fair. However, expedient can also be used as a noun to describe something practical for a particular purpose.
Vocabulary lists containing expedient
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 12, List 1
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"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe
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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.
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.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
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 • Jan. 21, 2026
Much more expedient, and more favorable from an equity investors’ standpoint, is to continue to issue debt.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025
“I’m going to put a functional city above what might be more politically expedient for me,” McOsker said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2025
“You cannot think how I have been dreading that it would be thought expedient that I should be sent to an ‘institution,’” he wrote on September 26.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
