expedient.

Useful for reaching an immediate aim, sometimes at the expense of principle.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• politically expedient
• expedient solution

On the page

Silence was expedient, but it left the injustice unchallenged.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Comparative more expedient; superlative most expedient. Count noun singular expedient; plural expedients. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.