expedient

C2+ Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /ɪkˈspidiənt/ UK /ɪkˈspiːdiənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
convenient and practical though possibly improper; a means to an end

Lying seemed expedient, but it later cost him dearly.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · convenient and practical... advantageous convenient practical prudent suitable advisable politic

Opposites

inexpedient impractical disadvantageous imprudent

Word family

Derived forms expedientlyexpediency expedience

Related forms expedite expedition expede

Etymology

From Latin expediens, present participle of expedire ('to free, make ready, be useful'), from ex- ('out') + pes ('foot'); literally 'freeing the feet.'

expedire Latin pes Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment Word Formation & Derivatives

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# expedient

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈspidiənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈspiːdiənt/

## Meanings
1. convenient and practical though possibly improper; a means to an end

## Examples
- Lying seemed expedient, but it later cost him dearly.

## Synonyms
- advantageous
- convenient
- practical
- prudent
- suitable
- advisable
- politic

## Antonyms
- inexpedient
- impractical
- disadvantageous
- imprudent

## Derived Forms
- expediently
- expediency
- expedience

## Related Forms
- expedite
- expedition
- expede

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: expedire
- Root: pes

## Etymology
From Latin expediens, present participle of expedire ('to free, make ready, be useful'), from ex- ('out') + pes ('foot'); literally 'freeing the feet.'

## AI Etymology
Expedient comes from Latin expediens, present participle of expedire ('to free, make ready, be useful'), from ex- ('out') + pes ('foot'); literally 'freeing the feet.'. The historical trail runs through Latin expedire and Latin pes. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means convenient and practical though possibly improper; a means to an end. Derived formations include expediently, expediency, expedience; related forms include expedite, expedition, expede.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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expedient

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