urgency

noun

ur·​gen·​cy ˈər-jən(t)-sē 

plural urgencies

1

: the quality or state of being urgent : insistence

2

: a force or impulse that impels or constrains : urge

Examples of urgency in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His follow-up call came moments later, his voice taut with urgency, comparing the rising flood to one of the region’s worst on record. —Amanda Jackson, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025

As so much around them came to a standstill, the family's sense of urgency increased. —Greta Bjornson, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025

This year’s best movies feel plugged in, inextricably connected to forces bigger than the ordinary faces of local and private authority—and confrontationally so, with a sense of danger and urgency amid forms of pressure that are all the more terrifying for acting invisibly and inexorably. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025

For Sheriff, the urgency is generational. —Larry Stansbury, Essence, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing urgency

• a matter of urgency/importance

Rhymes for urgency

• counterinsurgency
• emergency
• insurgency
• nonemergency

Kids Definition

urgency

noun

ur·​gen·​cy ˈər-jən-sē 

: the quality or state of being urgent

Medical Definition

urgency

noun

ur·​gen·​cy ˈər-jən-sē 

plural urgencies

: a sudden compelling need to urinate or defecate