expedient

1 of 2

adjective

ex·​pe·​di·​ent ik-ˈspē-dē-ənt 

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

expedient

2 of 2

noun

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

Synonyms

Adjective

• advisable
• desirable
• judicious
• politic
• prudent
• tactical
• wise

Noun

• makeshift
• stopgap

Choose the Right Synonym for expedient

Adjective

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

Noun

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.

exhausted all of their resources

a last resort

expedient may apply to any device or contrivance used when the usual one is not at hand or not possible.

a flimsy expedient

shift implies a tentative or temporary imperfect expedient.

desperate shifts to stave off foreclosure

makeshift implies an inferior expedient adopted because of urgent need or allowed through indifference.

old equipment employed as a makeshift

stopgap applies to something used temporarily as an emergency measure.

a new law intended only as a stopgap

Examples of expedient in a Sentence

Adjective

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.

Noun

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 on the Web

Adjective

Raisman, like Chiles, was also the last to go in her Olympic final, making the time-crunch to file an expedient appeal particularly intense and the result more dramatic. —Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024

Sidestepping divisive questions might be politically expedient, limiting attention on the party’s increasingly out-of-step agenda. —Editorial Board, Washington Post, 7 July 2024

Noun

Make sure all the start and end dates match (Al Dunlap, for example, continued his disastrous career through the simple expedient of not listing the two companies that had fired him on his resume). —Gautam Mukunda, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024

Some people saved their ration, making a small cake once every couple of weeks; others tried various expedients, from substituting carrots and parsnips to just going cold turkey. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

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

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1630, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

expedient

1 of 2 adjective

ex·​pe·​di·​ent ik-ˈspēd-ē-ənt 

: suitable for bringing about a desired result often without regard to what is fair or right

expediently adverb

expedient

2 of 2 noun

: a means to accomplish an end

especially : one used in place of a better means that is not available