urgent

adjective

ur·​gent ˈər-jənt 

1

a

: calling for immediate attention : pressing

urgent appeals

an urgent need

b

: conveying a sense of urgency

2

: urging insistently : importunate

urgently adverb

Synonyms

• acute
• pressing
• dire
• intense
• compelling
• emergent
• desperate
• critical

Examples of urgent in a Sentence

We've come to deliver an urgent message.

an urgent appeal for assistance

He addressed us in an urgent manner.

An urgent voice came over the intercom, telling us to leave the building immediately.

Recent Examples on the Web

McKesson never questioned her genetics – or considered 23andMe – until a team of surgeons performed an urgent, open-heart procedure in 2022 to remove clots from her heart and lungs. —Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025

These connections were especially urgent given that Inji’s student visa was set to expire after graduation. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025

Months into my time in Goonworld, this came to seem like an urgent question, unanswerable by conventional journalistic means. —Daniel Kolitz, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

This was Liverpool in urgent need of a lift after a series of setbacks and a manager looking elsewhere for solutions rather than backing the club’s long-serving match-winner to deliver. —James Pearce, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing urgent

• urgent care

Rhymes for urgent

• serjeant
• convergent
• detergent
• divergent
• emergent
• insurgent
• resurgent

Kids Definition

urgent

adjective

ur·​gent ˈər-jənt 

1

a

: calling for immediate attention : pressing

an urgent need for food

b

: indicating an urgent desire or need

an urgent manner

2

: urging very earnestly

urgently adverb