expedient
noun/ɪkˈspiːdiənt/
/ɪkˈspiːdiənt/
- an action that is useful or necessary for a particular purpose, but not always fair or right
- The disease was controlled by the simple expedient of not allowing anyone to leave the city.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin expedient- ‘extricating, putting in order’, from the verb expedire ‘extricate (originally by freeing the feet), put in order’, from ex- ‘out’ + pes, ped- ‘foot’. The original sense was neutral; the negative sense, implying disregard of moral considerations, dates from the late 18th cent.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
expedient