adj. 1. Suitable or efficient for accomplishing a purpose: thought email was the most expedient way to communicate with distant relatives. 2. Convenient but based on a concern for self-interest rather than principle: changed his position when it was politically expedient. 3. Obsolete Speedy; expeditious. n. 1. Something that is a means to an end, especially when based on self-interest: compromised only as an expedient to boost his career. 2. Something contrived or used to meet an urgent need: exhausted every expedient before filing a lawsuit. [Middle English, from Latin expediēns, expedient-, present participle of expedīre, to make ready; see EXPEDITE.] ex·pedi·ent·ly adv. |
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