expedient
The adjective expedient describes something that provides an easy way to achieve a goal or result, but it's not necessarily a moral solution.
Politically expedient means something you do to advance yourself politically. Use expedient when you want to hint that a particular solution or strategy has certain benefits and advantages but is not completely fair. However, expedient can also be used as a noun to describe something practical for a particular purpose.
Definitions of expedient
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appropriate to a purpose; practical“in the circumstances it was expedient to express loyalty”
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Synonyms:
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politic
marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness
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politic
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serving to promote your interest“was merciful only when mercy was expedient”
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Synonyms:
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advantageous
giving an advantage
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convenient
suited to your comfort or purpose or needs
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advantageous
appropriate for achieving a particular end; implies a lack of concern for fairness
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opportunist, opportunistic, timeserving
taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit
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carpetbag, carpetbagging
presumptuously seeking success or a position in a new locality
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politic
marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness
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useful, utile
being of use or service
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Antonyms:
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inexpedient
not suitable or advisable
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disadvantageous
constituting a disadvantage
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inadvisable
not advisable
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impolitic
not politic
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advantageous
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a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one
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types:
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make-do, makeshift, stopgap
something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency
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crutch
anything that serves as an expedient
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improvisation, temporary expedient
an unplanned expedient
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last resort, pis aller
an expedient adopted only in desperation
Commonly confused words
expedient / expeditious
Something expedient is helpful to you. If you vote your friend in for student body president just because you know she'll hook you up — that's an expedient choice. But expeditious is speedy, like your expeditious exit from the school cafeteria after you spilled spaghetti and meatballs all over your shirt.
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