as in prudent
suitable for bringing about a desired result under the circumstances
made the expedient decision to sell the land to whomever offered the most money
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in substitute
a temporary replacement
if you're a spectator caught without rainwear at a sporting event, then a plastic garbage bag makes an acceptable, if unfashionable, expedient
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in means
an action planned or taken to achieve a desired result
he vowed to use any expedient available to get the project done on time
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in opportunity
something that one uses to accomplish an end especially when the usual means is not available
since there wasn't a single bandage left in our backpacks, we had to use a bandanna, our only expedient
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of expedient
Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
Funding for the Loop has traditionally come from federal and state sources, but Caumissar-Kern said the strategy is not expedient for building new trails.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 23 July 2025
Thomas Stapleford, Chicago Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Instead, adopting features and placing oversight and authority with agencies from already existing Lanes/programs that have the same measure of success (see below) has been far more successful and expedient.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expedient
Adjective
Naturally, the theft of the ghost shirt by the stooges in the employ of Roy Lee is accompanied by many deceased bodies — the first of the many bloodbaths in Americana, which has a distressingly expedient approach to on-screen carnage.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
Funding for the Loop has traditionally come from federal and state sources, but Caumissar-Kern said the strategy is not expedient for building new trails.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 23 July 2025
Noun
In one approach, disagreements about statistics should be part of public, reasoned arguments in which the assumptions, limits and aims of competing choices are interrogated, weighed and debated by those who have a commitment to the truth and not simply to what is expedient.
—Thomas Stapleford, Chicago Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Instead, adopting features and placing oversight and authority with agencies from already existing Lanes/programs that have the same measure of success (see below) has been far more successful and expedient.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expedient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expedient
Adjective
-
The prudent way forward ought then to be to read today’s many swirling war stories with greater acuity—or even to learn how to write an altogether different story.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
This aligns with research showing that rural social identity predicts skepticism of external experts, illustrating a rural orientation toward prudent distrust.—
Scott R. Schell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In Normal, Odenkirk plays an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a small, sleepy town, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Do not take this as a substitute for sitting down with someone in a white coat to tell you what’s what.—
Quispe López,
Them.,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The main characters, who wake up chained to pipes, quickly realize amputating their own foot is the only means of escape.—
The Atlantic Culture Desk,
The Atlantic,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Murphy isn't the only lottery winner in recent weeks to come up with a winning number through unusual means.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In all those cases, the fund may lack the capital for seizing the opportunity.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
-
The opportunities are limitless.—
Lucy Handley,
CNBC,
1 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Egypt and Sudan have competing maps of the border, but because of the crisscrossing of those boundaries, Bir Tawil would belong to whichever nation relinquished its claim on a larger, more desirable area.—
Richard Collett,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The clothes were superb, peerlessly realized and immediately desirable; sometimes young and zesty, but most often the pinnacle of adult sophistication.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Harrison, after seeing different deadlines in the state constitution and law chose to follow the measure carrying the longer timeline, the justice said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Nov. 2025
-
In both cases, Israel sought to justify its aggression as a necessary security measure to protect its southern communities.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
One potential recourse for the NBA would be awarding the Heat a compensatory first round pick in 2027, which would allow Miami to trade four first-round picks.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
25 Oct. 2025
-
So there is absolutely no recourse if anything goes wrong.—
Charlie Markbreiter,
Them.,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
With them, outrage becomes fuel for sustained, wise action.—
Marc Brackett,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Hubert will play a wise woman who meets Hilary (Coco Jones) and becomes instrumental to the Banks family.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Expedient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expedient. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share