expediently
Definition
- Adverb:
- In an expedient manner; in a way that is convenient, practical, or advantageous for achieving a particular end, often with little regard for principles or long-term effects. It describes an action taken to provide a quick, suitable, or self-serving solution to an immediate problem.
Usage and Examples
General Use: Describes performing an action in the most immediately practical or advantageous way.
- The manager expediently approved the budget to meet the deadline.
- She expediently used her contacts to get the necessary permits.
Contextual Use: Often implies a choice made for short-term benefit or ease, which may not be the most principled or sustainable.
- He expediently agreed with the plan, despite his private objections, to avoid conflict.
- The government acted expediently to quell the protests, rather than addressing the root causes.
Advanced Usage and Nuance
Strategic vs. Unprincipled: The word can be neutral, describing efficient pragmatism, or slightly negative, suggesting self-interest or a lack of ethics.
- Neutral/Efficient: The software developer expediently patched the bug to restore service.
- Negative/Unprincipled: The politician expediently changed his stance when polls shifted.
Formal and Professional Contexts: Commonly used in business, politics, and management discussions to describe tactical decisions.
- The committee decided expediently to postpone the vote.
Variants and Related Words
- Expedient (adjective): (of an action) convenient and practical, although possibly improper or immoral.
- It was expedient to blame the error on the outdated system.
- Expediency (noun): The quality of being convenient and practical despite possibly being improper or immoral; appropriateness.
- The decision was based on political expediency rather than justice.
Synonyms
- Practically
- Advantageously
- Tactically
- Opportunistically (carries a stronger negative connotation)
- Efficiently (more neutral, focusing on speed and lack of waste)
Antonyms
- Inexpediently
- Impractically
- Principally (acting according to principle)
- Scrupulously (acting with careful regard for what is right)
Related Phrases and Idioms
- A matter of expediency: Something done for practical advantage rather than for moral or logical reasons.
- The partnership was a matter of expediency for both companies.
- To do something as a matter of expediency: To do something because it is the easiest or most advantageous course in the circumstances.
- He apologized as a matter of expediency, not because he felt genuine remorse.
Adverb
-
in an expedient manner
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ trái nghĩa
Từ chứa "expediently"
