urgent
Americanadjective
-
compelling or requiring immediate action or attention; dire; pressing.
an urgent matter.
- Synonyms:
- desperate, imperative
-
insistent or earnest in solicitation; importunate, as a person.
an urgent pleader.
-
expressed with insistence, as requests or appeals.
an urgent tone of voice.
adjective
-
requiring or compelling speedy action or attention
the matter is urgent
an urgent message
-
earnest and persistent
Other Word Forms
- nonurgent adjective
- superurgent adjective
- unurgent adjective
- urgency noun
- urgently adverb
Etymology
Origin of urgent
First recorded in 1490–1500; from Latin urgent- (stem of urgēns ), present participle of urgēre “to press, force, drive”; urge, -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.
"The low case numbers make it difficult to research the disease and present some obstacles in our urgent search for effective therapies," explains Markus Schuelke.
From Science Daily
Jorge Piñón, an expert on Cuba's energy sector at the University of Texas at Austin, said the more urgent need is diesel, which could be used for backup power generators or for transportation systems.
From BBC
France, a key player in Lebanon, called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting, which was subsequently scheduled for Tuesday at 1400 GMT.
From Barron's
Finance ministers from Germany, France and other top economies simultaneously declared the “urgent necessity” of enacting what’s now called the Savings and Investment Union.
From Barron's
Universities have sent students home, and hospitals have postponed all but urgent operations.
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.
