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Synonyms

expedient

American  
[ik-spee-dee-uhnt] / ɪkˈspi di ənt /

adjective

  1. 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

  2. conducive to advantage or interest, as opposed to right.

  3. acting in accordance with expediency, or what is advantageous.

noun

  1. a means to an end.

    The ladder was a useful expedient for getting to the second floor.

  2. 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
expedient British  
/ ɪkˈspiːdɪənt /

adjective

  1. suitable to the circumstances; appropriate

  2. inclined towards methods or means that are advantageous rather than fair or just

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. something suitable or appropriate, esp something used during an urgent situation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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.