expedient

/ɪkˈspiːdi.ənt/

expedient adjective: suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended.

Adjective

expedient (comparative more expedient, superlative most expedient)

Suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended.
- Most people, faced with a decision, will choose the most expedient option.
- Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter willnot come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 16:7
Affording short-term benefit, often at the expense of the long-term.
- [T]he judges were unanimously of opinion that [...] by the common law of England, no man, not authorised by the crown, had a right to publish political news. While the Whig party was still formidable, the government thought it expedient occasionally to connive at the violation of this rule.1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter III, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 389
- That's because the debate pits textbook economics — which argues that bailouts beget bad behavior begets more bailouts — against practical politics. And politics, or the taking of expedient steps to keep people happy, will almost always win.2009, CQ Weekly, volume 67, numbers 31-36, page 2190
Governed by self-interest, often short-term self-interest.
- But the Expedient, in the sense in which it is opposed to the Right, generally means that which is expedient for the particular interest of the agent himself; as when a minister sacrifices the interests of his country to keep himself in place.1861, John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism
(obsolete) Expeditious, quick, rapid.
- the adverse winds / Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time / To land his legions all as soon as I; / His marches are expedient to this town / His forces strong, his soldiers confident.c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Noun

expedient (plural expedients)

A method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficient; a resource.
- To secure such a market, there is no other expedient, than to promote manufacturing establishments.1791 December 5, Alexander Hamilton, “Alexander Hamilton’s Final Version of the Report on the Subject of Manufactures”, in Harold C. Syrett, editor, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, volume 10, New...
- He would never let her know that he was aware of the strange expedient to which she had been driven by her great distress.1906, O. Henry, The Green Door

expedient meaning in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Malayalam

expedient in Telugu

an expedient, contrivance: హోర hōra
an expedient, convenience: వీలు vīlu
an expedient, convenience, way, manner: వైపు vaipu
an expedient: మందు mandu

expedient in Malayalam

പ്രായോഗികമായ, സൗകര്യപ്രദമായ, യോജിച്ച, അനുകൂലമായ

More languagesFewer languages

expedient in Kannada: ಸಲಕರಣೆ salakaraṇe, ಅಂಗ aṅga
expedient in Sanskrit: द्वार् dvā́r, अङ्ग áṅga
expedient in Arabic: مُنَاسِب munāsib, مُلَائِم mulāʔim

Examples of expedient in a sentence

Nothing but the right can ever be the expedient, since that can never be true expediency which would sacrifice a greater good to a less.a. 1863, Richard Whately, Thoughts and Apophthegms:
Government has slowly but positively moved from an active course of following plans and policies to the easier and more expedient course of the counterpuncher.2011, L. Fletcher Prouty, Jesse Ventura, The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World:
Depressingly, [...] the expedient of importing African slaves was in part meant to protect the native American population from exploitation.2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 709:

All 18 example sentences with expedient

Synonyms of expedient

All synonyms of expedient

Forms of expedient

Adjective
comparative	more expedient
superlative	most expedient
Noun
plural	expedients

Origin of expedient

From Middle English expedient, from Old French expedient, from Latin expediens (stem expedient-), present participle of expedire (“to bring forward, to dispatch, to expedite; impers. to be profitable, serviceable, advantageous, expedient”), from ex (“out”) + pēs (“foot, hoof”).

Words formed from expedient

Questions about expedient

What does expedient mean?: Expedient means suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended.
What is expedient in Hindi?: Expedient in Hindi is उपक्रम (upakram). See Expedient meaning in Hindi.
How do you use expedient in a sentence?: Nothing but the right can ever be the expedient, since that can never be true expediency which would sacrifice a greater good to a less.
What part of speech is expedient?: Expedient can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce expedient?: Expedient is pronounced /ɪkˈspiːdi.ənt/.

Words near expedient in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: expedient (page history and authors); उपक्रम (Hindi) (page history and authors); expedient (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); మందు (Telugu) (page history and authors); expedient (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಅಂಗ (Kannada) (page history and authors); अङ्ग (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-expedient.ogg.

Cite this entry: “expedient.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/expedient. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.