URGENT Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

urgent

adjective

ˈər-jənt

Definition of urgent

as in acute

needing immediate attention I will need to put off everything but the most urgent issues

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 urgent Financial experts have long emphasized the urgent need for Sac City Unified to identify and implement a long-term fiscal plan that would address its financial distress rather than merely delay the crash. — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026 The other beneficiary here is YouTube, Barker’s training ground, as the platform has now become an urgent space for legacy studios and streamers to find emerging talent. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 Nine times out of 10, the story either feels urgent or very personal to the creators. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 Cavaillolès said Wednesday that Europe needs to increase its launch cadence, arguing that the war in Ukraine had turned space sovereignty from a largely political concept into a more urgent concern. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for urgent

Recent Examples of Synonyms for urgent

Adjective

Commercial real estate could face particularly acute pressure.

— Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
Signs are emerging that the latest attacks could trigger an acute market panic.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of acute

Adjective

The majority of the time in my life, other more pressing and practical life matters present themselves to be sorted, managed, resolved, etc.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Nowhere is the issue more pressing than in the secondary, where USC’s depth at safety is looking dire of late.

— Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of pressing

Adjective

Under a less dire scenario, Paramount could shift its corporate headquarters to another state to qualify for incentives but still maintain large staffs in the creative hubs of Los Angeles and New York, where the company has its legal headquarters.

— Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
The world seemed dire when the original Star Trek was on the air.

— Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of dire

Adjective

Ukrainian officials are expecting another winter of intense Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, a tactic Moscow has employed each winter of the full-scale invasion in a bid to freeze the country into submission.

— David Brennan, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026
In his research for both projects, his mood boards filled up with references to periods of intense cultural flowering cut short—Weimar Germany, 1970s Iran, Cuba in the ’50s, and New York City before the AIDS crisis.

— Sean Santiago, Architectural Digest, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of intense

Adjective

The technologies exist, and the economics are increasingly compelling.

— Nana Menya Ayensu, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2026
United are far from exhilarating, far from compelling and better duly, belatedly, narrowly arrives, which ensures that Moyes is pleased, but with a caveat.

— George Caulkin, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of compelling

Adjective

And even with Blake Corum having an emergent year, Kyren still did 60 percent, 65 percent of the work in the backfield.

— Michael Beller, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Each step may be valid on its own, but the chain creates emergent behavior that is difficult to trace.

— Brian Contos, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of emergent

Adjective

These are profitable enterprises making strategic choices, not distressed ones making desperate cuts.

— Srinivasulu Mupparaju, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Although the story of Odysseus binding himself to the mast to resist the Sirens’ song may belong to the mythical imagination, plenty of desperate souls have gone to heroic lengths to obstruct their wayward desires.

— Meghan O’Gieblyn, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of desperate

Adjective

That makes the vehicle’s capacitors, batteries, and power electronics critical.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2026
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian territory if allies can secure a genuine Russian commitment not to hit Ukraine's critical infrastructure.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of critical

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urgency

urgent

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“Urgent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/urgent. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of urgent

adjective

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