exigent
adjective
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Exigent is a formal word with meanings closely tied to its Latin forbear, exigere, meaning "to demand." Exigent things and people demand attention—for example, an exigent client expects so much that they are hard to satisfy, and exigent circumstances are so significant that they can be used to justify certain police actions without the warrant typically required. Before exigent joined the language in the early 1600s, the noun exigency was being used to refer to something that is necessary in a particular situation—for example, the exigencies of an emergency situation might require that certain usual precautions be ignored. That word dates to the late 1500s, but even earlier, in the mid-1400s, exigence was on the scene doing the same job. All three words—exigent, exigency, and exigence—continue to meet the demands of English users, albeit not frequently in everyday conversation.
Synonyms
Examples of exigent in a Sentence
Daniel Scheffler, SPIN, 10 June 2024
It's used for humanitarian purposes or for exigent circumstances.
—Ally Schweitzer, NPR, 8 May 2024
Then an old-timer hoarse and exigent with years bugled like a braying donkey.
—Jack O'Connor, Outdoor Life, 2 May 2024
Defense attorneys argued that anything Elders said before he was Mirandized is inadmissible, while Sims argued there were exigent circumstances.
—James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for exigent 
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“Exigent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exigent. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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exigent
adjective
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