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

China’s top leaders have vowed to double down on making the country technologically self-sufficient, a policy priority that has taken on more urgency as the rivalry with the U.S. intensifies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Helen says her diagnosis, confirmed by a doctor, brought confusion and fear as she was "hoping for an explanation, fix or some sense of urgency, instead I got a shrug of the shoulders."

Read more on BBC

“But I’m not going to wait on the sidelines, because there is an urgency of now.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The urgency for the government to help the fledgling U.S. rare-earth industry grow has increased as trade tensions between the U.S. and China have escalated in recent weeks.

Read more on MarketWatch

The IMO understands the urgency of the moment while the U.S. dithers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• desperation 
• necessity 
• pressure 
• seriousness