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expedient

ex·pe·dient

UK/ɪkˈspiːdi.ənt/ US/ɪˈkspidiʌnt/ rare obsolete
adjective (2) noun (1)

adjective

1.

serving to promote your interest

  • “was merciful only when mercy was expedient”
Antonyms
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2.

appropriate to a purpose; practical

  • “in the circumstances it was expedient to express loyalty”
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noun

1.

a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one

Origin

From Middle English expedient, from Old French expedient, from Latin expediens (stem expedient-), present participle of expedire (“to bring forward, to dispatch, to expedite; impers. to be profitable, serviceable, advantageous, expedient”), from ex (“out”) + pēs (“foot, hoof”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.