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单词 expedient
释义
expedient
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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.
CHOOSE YOUR 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 voting booth because you know didn't do the right thing.

Expedient describes a politically advantageous choice. Expedient also describes something that's good for you or something that's useful. It dates back to the 1400s and has its roots in Old French (expedient) and Latin (expedientem). Here are some expedient examples:

Should the government, which promised to protect airline passengers last year, do the expedient thing — or the right thing? (Seattle Times)

But Mr. Kim's defiance, at times unshakeable, has been known to soften when politically expedient. (New York Times)

On the other hand, expeditious isn't up to anything, it just means speedy or prompt. Expeditious entered English in the late 1400s via expedition, which also has roots in Old French and Latin. If you want to speed things up, use expeditious:

Mr. Fine remains hopeful of a credible and expeditious review of the relevant issues by law enforcement authorities. (Seattle Times)

The bill was given an expeditious passage as the Senate suspended order 79 of its standing rules to amend the National Minimum Wage Act. (All Africa)

Although expedient and expeditious come from the same Latin root word for "to make ready or to prompt," they parted ways by the 1600s, when expedient became self-serving. Use expedient for "advantageous" and expeditious for "speedy," like how fast you plan for an expedition to Antarctica, or across the street.

WORD FAMILY
expedient: expedience, expediency, expediently, expedients, inexpedient+/expedience: expediences/expediency: expediencies/inexpedient: inexpedience, inexpediency, inexpediently
USAGE EXAMPLES
In Syria, the separation was an expedient fiction.
The New Yorker(Dec 04, 2016)
Francis has weakened the Curia’s grip partly by the simple expedient of ignoring it at critical junctures.
Economist(Jul 28, 2016)
Now it’s up to the Legislature to do what’s necessary - rather than what’s expedient - to protect our state’s most vulnerable children.
Washington Times(Nov 22, 2016)
1adj appropriate to a purpose; practical
in the circumstances it was expedient to express loyalty
Syn
politic
marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness
2adj serving to promote your interest
was merciful only when mercy was expedient
Syn|Ant
advantageous
giving an advantage
convenient
suited to your comfort or purpose or needs
advantageous
appropriate for achieving a particular end; implies a lack of concern for fairness
opportunist, opportunistic, timeserving
taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit
carpetbag, carpetbagging
presumptuously seeking success or a position in a new locality
politic
marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness
useful, utile
being of use or service
inexpedient
not suitable or advisable
disadvantageous
constituting a disadvantage
inadvisable
not advisable
impolitic
not politic
3n a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one
Hypo|Hyper
make-do, makeshift, stopgap
something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency
crutch
anything that serves as an expedient
improvisation, temporary expedient
an unplanned expedient
last resort, pis aller
an expedient adopted only in desperation
agency, means, way
how a result is obtained or an end is achieved
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更新时间:2024/11/10 16:28:08