urgent

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adjective ur·gent \ˈər-jənt\

: very important and needing immediate attention

: showing that something is very important and needs immediate attention

Full Definition of URGENT

1

a :  calling for immediate attention :  pressing <urgent appeals> <an urgent need>

b :  conveying a sense of urgency

2

:  urging insistently :  importunate

— ur·gent·ly adverb

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Examples of URGENT

1. We've come to deliver an urgent message.
2. an urgent appeal for assistance
3. He addressed us in an urgent manner.
4. An urgent voice came over the intercom, telling us to leave the building immediately.

Origin of URGENT

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin urgent-, urgens, present participle of urgēre

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to URGENT

Synonyms

burning, clamant, compelling, critical, crying, dire, emergent, exigent, imperative, imperious, importunate, instant, necessitous, pressing, acute

Antonyms

noncritical, nonurgent

Related Words

demanding, extreme, immediate, insistent, intense, overriding; crucial, desperate, grave, life-and-death (also life-or-death), serious, severe, vital; dangerous, explosive, hazardous, perilous, precarious, unstable

Near Antonyms

incidental, low-pressure, minor, negligible, trivial, unimportant; nonthreatening, safe, stable