EXPEDIENT
Dictionary entry overview: What does expedient mean?
• EXPEDIENT (noun)
The noun EXPEDIENT has 1 sense:
1. a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one
Familiarity information: EXPEDIENT used as a noun is very rare.
• EXPEDIENT (adjective)
The adjective EXPEDIENT has 2 senses:
1. serving to promote your interest
2. appropriate to a purpose; practical
Familiarity information: EXPEDIENT used as an adjective is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• EXPEDIENT (noun)
Meaning:
A means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("expedient" is a kind of...):
agency; means; way (how a result is obtained or an end is achieved)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expedient"):
make-do; makeshift; stopgap (something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency)
crutch (anything that serves as an expedient)
improvisation; temporary expedient (an unplanned expedient)
last resort; pis aller (French for 'worst going')
• EXPEDIENT (adjective)
Meaning:
Serving to promote your interest
Context example:
was merciful only when mercy was expedient
Similar:
advantageous; appropriate (appropriate for achieving a particular end; implies a lack of concern for fairness)
opportunist; opportunistic; timeserving (taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit)
Also:
advantageous (giving an advantage)
convenient (suited to your comfort or purpose or needs)
politic (marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness)
useful; utile (being of use or service)
Antonym:
inexpedient (not suitable or advisable)
Meaning:
Appropriate to a purpose; practical
Context example:
in the circumstances it was expedient to express loyalty
Similar:
politic (marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness)
