urgency

[ur-juhn-see]

noun

plural

urgencies 

1. urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.

2. urgencies, urgent requirements or needs.

Other Word Forms

• superurgency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of urgency¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from Late Latin urgentia “pressure,” from urgent-, stem of urgēns “pressing” ( urgent ) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

Increasing the urgency, Halligan faces a ticking clock on her tenure—and arguments that she isn’t legally allowed to serve in the role at all.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In Silicon Valley, the debate over whether AI companies are overvalued has taken on a new urgency.

Read more on BBC

It was work he had done for much of his life, but which he said had taken on more urgency now.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A road game against an opponent with plenty of its own urgency should tell the Bruins whether they’re on the road to redemption or merely picking up speed on a route to nowhere.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But they have taken extra urgency among players who are actively lobbying for more control over their grueling schedule and working environment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• desperation 
• necessity 
• pressure 
• seriousness