Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Expediency.
  • noun Obsolete Speed; haste.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Fitness; suitableness: same as expediency.
  • noun An expedition; an adventure.
  • noun Expedition; haste; despatch.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being expedient or advantageous; fitness or suitableness to effect a purpose intended; adaptedness to self-interest; desirableness; advantage; advisability; -- sometimes contradistinguished from moral rectitude or principle.
  • noun obsolete Expedition; haste; dispatch.
  • noun obsolete An expedition; enterprise; adventure.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The quality of being fit or suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended; propriety or advisability under the particular circumstances of a case.
  • noun obsolete Speed, haste or urgency.
  • noun Something that is expedient.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others
  • noun the quality of being suited to the end in view

Etymologies

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Examples

  • His successors proved to be no more fertile in expedience than he (Godon, p. 179). harold Says:

    Matthew Yglesias » The Real German Resistance to Hitler: The Social Democrats 2009

  • Extensive efforts (intellectual, spiritual and structural) have been undertaken to establish this continuity and preserve it in light of the changing fabric of the human experience and to ignore these efforts in favor of some revisionist notion of religion as changing out of pure expedience is as cynical as it is ignorant.

    A Response to a Response Hal Duncan 2007

  • Extensive efforts (intellectual, spiritual and structural) have been undertaken to establish this continuity and preserve it in light of the changing fabric of the human experience and to ignore these efforts in favor of some revisionist notion of religion as changing out of pure expedience is as cynical as it is ignorant.

    Archive 2007-04-01 Hal Duncan 2007

  • These children will inherit the repercussions of our actions on the environment, but hopefully not our shortsightedness; expedience is no longer an excuse for turning a blind eye.

    Hands around Lake Chapala, Mexico - an eco event 2007

  • These children will inherit the repercussions of our actions on the environment, but hopefully not our shortsightedness; expedience is no longer an excuse for turning a blind eye.

    Hands around Lake Chapala, Mexico - an eco event 2007

  • Extensive efforts (intellectual, spiritual and structural) have been undertaken to establish this continuity and preserve it in light of the changing fabric of the human experience and to ignore these efforts in favor of some revisionist notion of religion as changing out of pure expedience is as cynical as it is ignorant.

    THE HALLS OF PENTHEUS -- PART FOUR Hal Duncan 2007

  • I, too, have argued Detroit's business model is hopelessly broken, that its costs were indefensibly high, its brand image tarnished, its culture mired in denial, its management and union leadership too often willing to accept short-term expedience at the expense of long-term success.

    detnews.com - Local 2009

  • The problem is people aren't visiting branches as much as they used to because when you look at their core drivers in getting stuff done, namely expedience and convenience, the branch simply is no longer the best choice.

    Brett King: Is improving Customer Experience just too hard for banks? 2010

  • If he joined the Rev Wright's church only out of political expedience, that is too cynical.

    Sunday Morning Café. Ann Althouse 2008

  • Dubai's leadership, however, still views Abu Dhabi's dominance as matter of short term expedience, "Sabra of Eurasia Group said.

    Original Signal - Transmitting Buzz 2010

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