1
Core quality
Convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
Example
The shortcut was expedient but environmentally damaging.
expedient
/ɪkˈspiːdiənt/ · ik-SPEE-dee-untadjective
Convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
Use expedient to express this relationship precisely: convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
What expedient Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Officials chose the most expedient solution rather than the fairest one.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
What is politically expedient may not be economically sound.
Use expedient Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The shortcut was expedient but environmentally damaging.
Officials chose the most expedient solution rather than the fairest one.
What is politically expedient may not be economically sound.
Precision Matters
Expedient overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
expedient
vs.Means convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
pragmatic
Means dealing with problems sensibly and realistically.
expedient
vs.Means convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
prudent
Means showing careful, wise judgment about risks, consequences, and future needs.
expedient
vs.Means convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
advantageous
Means providing a benefit or favourable circumstances.
expedient
vs.Means convenient and useful for achieving an immediate purpose, though possibly improper or unprincipled.
scrupulous
Means extremely careful about details, accuracy, or ethical correctness.
Test expedient in Context
The action is convenient for an immediate goal but ethically questionable.
1
Suppressing the report was ___ in the short term, but it violated the agency's commitment to transparency.