What does expediency mean?
Expediency is a noun describing regard for what is convenient, useful, or advantageous in the moment, especially when that comes at the cost of principle or morality. When we say someone acted out of expediency, we usually mean they chose the easy, self-serving path over the right one — the word therefore carries a distinctly critical connotation in most modern usage, particularly in phrases like 'political expediency.' It derives from the Latin verb expedire, meaning to free from entanglement or make ready, which also gives us 'expedite' and 'expedition.' A second, more neutral sense survives mainly in formal and legal contexts, where expediency means simple suitability or advisability — whether a given measure is fit for its purpose. The adjective form is 'expedient,' and a close synonym is the older variant 'expedience.' Knowing this word is useful because it names a familiar human temptation: trading integrity for convenience.
The quality of being convenient and advantageous despite possibly being improper or immoral; opportunistic regard for short-term advantage.
"She resigned rather than lend her name to a policy born purely of expediency."
In this dominant sense the word is almost always pejorative, implying a sacrifice of principle.
Suitability or fitness for a particular purpose; advisability.
"The committee debated the expediency of introducing the new rules before the audit."
This neutral sense survives chiefly in formal, legal, and parliamentary language.
The plural is rare and typically appears in formal or philosophical writing referring to multiple instances of expedient action or considerations of advantage.
"The memoir catalogued the small expediencies by which he had survived his early career."
Shakespeare put it bluntly: 'Necessity's sharp pinch' aside, what we call expedience has been the polite name for doing the wrong thing since at least the seventeenth century.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of expediency
Expediency comes from the Latin verb expedire, formed from ex- ('out') plus pes/pedis ('foot'), originally meaning to free the feet from fetters or entanglements, and by extension to disentangle, prepare, or make ready. English adopted the noun in the early seventeenth century, alongside the older form 'expedience.' Its Latin root also underlies related borrowings such as 'expedite' and 'expedition,' all preserving the core idea of getting things unblocked and moving forward.
Related word forms
How expediency is actually used
Expediency carries a strongly pejorative connotation when used alone — describing someone's action as mere 'expediency' implies opportunism and a lack of moral backbone. In legal and formal writing, however, it can appear neutrally, meaning simply fitness or advisability ('the expediency of the proposed course'). The word belongs chiefly to formal registers: politics, journalism, ethics, and law.
Easily confused with expediency
"Expedience" is an older, largely synonymous form meaning the same thing, while "expediency" is now the far more common spelling; "an expedient," by contrast, is a noun for a specific means to an end.
"Expendiency" is not a standard English word; it is a common misspelling of "expediency."