expedient

adjective ex·pe·di·ent \ ik-ˈspē-dē-ənt \

|Updated on: 2 Aug 2018

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Examples: expedient in a Sentence

Definition of expedient

1 : suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance

2 : characterized by concern with what is opportune; especially : governed by self-interest

—

expediently

adverb

See expedient defined for English-language learners

See expedient defined for kids

Examples of expedient in a Sentence

Marley found it expedient to maintain social relationships with gunmen and politicans from both political parties. —Robert Palmer, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 1994
The marble floor … gave the hall the aspect of a cathedral, and the walls were decorated with aphorisms such as Cicero's THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE IS THE HIGHEST LAW, a phrase he found curiously—or at least potentially—expedient in what was certainly designed as a temple to the idea of law. —Tom Clancy, Patriot Games, 1987
Under political pressure and at the urging of Jefferson, Madison finally (but grudgingly) admitted that a bill of rights might help, over time, to instill in the people a greater respect for "the fundamental maxims of free government." But even as he was shepherding the first amendments through Congress, in 1789, he privately described them (amazingly enough) as a "nauseous project," required only for expedient reasons of politics. —Jack N. Rakove, Atlantic, December 1986
They found it expedient to negotiate with the terrorists.
Do the right thing, not the expedient thing.

Recent Examples of expedient from the Web

Yet, as the report detailed, the issue of safe streets often remains a low priority, sidelined in favor of politically expedient campaigns to build new roads, and even considered a barrier to efforts to reduce gridlock, congestion, and drive times.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Safer roads in cities are possible, but politics holding us back, says report," 23 Mar. 2018
Since Hilcorp discovered and reported the leak, the company has been working closely with environmental experts and consultants in close coordination with regulators to shut in the leak in a safe and expedient fashion.

— kara moriarty, Alaska Dispatch News, "Reaction to Hilcorp gas leak ignores history," 13 Mar. 2017
Many legal experts have suggested that the most expedient way to provide reparations to Guatemalan victims is through legislation rather than litigation, perhaps via a public fund such as the one for victims of Tuskegee or 9/11 first responders.

— sushma subramanian, Slate Magazine, "Worse Than Tuskegee," 26 Feb. 2017
Mr. Kaplinsky and other backers of arbitration argue that the private legal system is a more expedient way to resolve disputes.

— jessica silver-greenberg and michael corkery, New York Times, "What an Arbitration Clause Looks Like," 5 May 2016
So this isn’t at all the cheap or expedient way to go, and for that the Yorks have to be credited after going cheap or expedient in so many previous important moments.

— tim kawakami, The Mercury News, "A bungled start to the 49ers’ new era–the Yorks fire Baalke and Kelly, and it’s just as awkward as ever," 1 Jan. 2017
The facts no longer matter, only what is politically expedient, sensationalistic, and designed to confirm the preexisting opinions of a large audience.

— the washington post, The Mercury News, "Roger Ailes, architect of conservative TV juggernaut Fox, is dead at 77," 18 May 2017
But one wishes here, as elsewhere, that Johnson Sirleaf’s biographer would reckon directly with the president’s responsibility for her more expedient choices, rather than depicting her as a victim of circumstance.

— jina moore, New York Times, "A Woman in Charge: A Biography of Liberia’s President," 17 Mar. 2017
Moore repeatedly exposed himself to intense hostile fire to insure the proper and expedient deployment of friendly troops.

— the washington post, The Denver Post, "Hal Moore, Army general in “We Were Soldiers,” Crested Butte executive dies at 94," 14 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'expedient.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of expedient

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin expedient-, expendiens, present participle of expedire to extricate, prepare, be useful, from ex- + ped-, pes foot — more at foot

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

expedient Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of expedient

expedient, politic, advisable mean dictated by practical or prudent motives. expedient usually implies what is immediately advantageous without regard for ethics or consistent principles.

- a politically expedient decision

politic stresses judiciousness and tactical value but usually implies some lack of candor or sincerity.

- a politic show of interest

advisable applies to what is practical, prudent, or advantageous but lacks the derogatory implication of expedient and politic.

- sometimes it's advisable to say nothing

expedient

noun ex·pe·di·ent \ ik-ˈspē-dē-ənt \

Definition of expedient

: something done or used to achieve a particular end usually quickly or temporarily : an expedient action or solution

See expedient defined for English-language learners

Examples of expedient in a Sentence

In 1882, racing to meet the deadline on Life on the Mississippi, he [Mark Twain] boasted to W. D. Howells that he had managed to churn out 9,500 words in a day, having resorted to the old hack's expedient of copying out large chunks from other people's books … —Jonathan Raban, Times Literary Supplement, 21–27 Sept. 1990
The Viet Cong taught the peasants to dig cave shelters under the sleeping platforms rural Vietnamese cover with mats of woven straw and use as beds. This expedient gave the peasants a handy shelter right inside the house, unless that house happened to be one of those set afire by the napalm or the white phosphorus, called Willy Peter in U.S. military idiom. —Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988
For government is an expedient, by which men would fain succeed in letting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is most expedient, the governed are most let alone by it. —Henry David Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience," 1849
For it is plain that every word we speak is in some degree a diminution of our lungs by corrosion, and consequently contributes to the shortening of our lives. An expedient was therefore offered, that since words are only names for things, it would be more convenient for all men to carry about them such things as were necessary to express the particular business they are to discourse on. —Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, 1726
The government chose short-term expedients instead of a real economic policy.
We can solve this problem by the simple expedient of taking out another loan.

Recent Examples of expedient from the Web

In moments like these, complaints about tribalism can be politically expedient — a way of making even the most consequential debate seem like a mere spat between loyalists on either side.

— laila lalami, New York Times, "Does American ‘Tribalism’ End in a Compromise, or a Fight?," 26 June 2018
Some critics say his position is politically expedient.

— matt viser, BostonGlobe.com, "For questions of presidential power, Brett Kavanaugh has several answers," 14 July 2018
Jones highlighted that the Department of Fair Practices is hiring more staff and has become more expedient and nimble in vetting and certifying businesses that have applied to be officially recognized as DBEs.

— Washington Post, "Metro has again fallen short of its goal for hiring diverse contractors," 20 Jan. 2018
And look: The history of TV is the history of expedient business decisions that worked out through good execution.

— james poniewozik, New York Times, "How to Save ‘The Conners’ From Roseanne," 22 June 2018
The timing of the papers’ digitization with the resurgence of Woodrow Wilson interest was expedient, if a bit coincidental.

— kate keller, Smithsonian, "Woodrow Wilson’s Papers Go Digital, Leaving Microfiche Behind," 9 June 2018
Compared to other media, like film, television, or even books, podcasts are relatively cheap and expedient to produce.

— katherine carlson, The Cut, "The TV-Recap Podcast That Got Me Through My Divorce," 31 May 2018
In Texas, 'do right and risk the consequences' has been replaced with 'do the expedient and follow the NRA'.

— mike ward, Houston Chronicle, "Andrew White calls for special session on school safety," 19 May 2018
Get our daily newsletter Equating money with value is in many cases a necessary expedient.

— The Economist, "Economists focus too little on what people really care about," 3 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of expedient

see ¹expedient

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1630

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

expedient Synonyms

Synonyms

means, measure, move, shift, step;

Related Words

act, action, deed, doing, feat, thing;

course, procedure, proceeding, process;

activity, affair, business, dealing, enterprise, event;

attempt, crack, endeavor, essay, fling, go, initiative, operation, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, undertaking, whack;

effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, while, work;

project, proposal, proposition;

makeshift, resort, resource, stopgap;

countermeasure, countermove, counterstep;

Synonym Discussion of expedient

resource, resort, expedient, shift, makeshift, stopgap mean something one turns to in the absence of the usual means or source of supply. resource and resort apply to anything one falls back upon.