From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishexpedientex‧pe‧di‧ent1 /ɪkˈspiːdiənt/ adjective WAY/METHODhelping you to deal with a problem quickly and effectively although sometimes in a way that is not morally right OPP inexpedient This solution is politically expedient but may well cause long-term problems.expedient to do something We think it is expedient to make a good-will gesture to the new administration.
Examples from the Corpus
expedient• Politically, expressing horror at degeneracy was expedient.• The arrangement, however, was not just expedient.• There can be little doubt that any government would rapidly do so should it become politically expedient.• a politically expedient compromise• Presumably, this is a politically expedient decision; but how long can this car dependence be sustained?• It may, therefore, be expedient on certain occasions to utilise taped material in a more selective manner.politically expedient• There can be little doubt that any government would rapidly do so should it become politically expedient.• Presumably, this is a politically expedient decision; but how long can this car dependence be sustained?• Aicha Kossoko exerts a brooding presence as Octavia, suffering nobly through her politically expedient marriage to the unloving Antony.• It may therefore become economically and politically expedient to encourage a shift to more labour intensive methods of primary production.expedientexpedient2 noun [countable] DEAL WITHa quick and effective way of dealing with a problem Moore escaped by the simple expedient of lying down in a clump of grass.Examples from the Corpus
expedient• Where a system of conscription operated all sorts of expedients were used to avoid service.• So he adopted the simple expedient of not opening it until it was beyond his power to act on it.• They divined the contents of sealed envelopes by the simple expedient of opening the staples at the other end of the envelope.• Now down into crawler gear he pushes on, finding regular protection by the simple expedient of removing most of the ice!• Taylor himself never placed undue stock in it, viewing it largely as a temporary expedient.• Our efforts in agricultural science are thus, at best, temporary expedients.by the simple expedient of• They divined the contents of sealed envelopes by the simple expedient of opening the staples at the other end of the envelope.• Billy Bragg has the unusual gift of making other people's songs his own by the simple expedient of singing them.• The Pearl has a 6,500-strong sales force which collects insurance premiums and arranges policies by the simple expedient of house-to-house calls.• Now down into crawler gear he pushes on, finding regular protection by the simple expedient of removing most of the ice!Origin expedient1 (1300-1400) French Latin, present participle of expedire; → EXPEDITE 