convenience

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The quality of being easy, quick and suitable to your needs or schedule.

   Grammar: Often follows of or for: for your convenience.

   Patterns

   • for convenience
   • at your convenience
   • the convenience of something

   I love the convenience of online banking.

   Please call me back at your convenience.

   We chose the hotel for its convenience, right beside the station.

2. 2nouncountable

   A useful device, service or feature that saves time or effort.

   Grammar: Often plural: modern conveniences.

   Patterns

   • a modern convenience

   A dishwasher is a great convenience for a busy family.

   The cabin lacks modern conveniences like a microwave.

   Free parking is a small convenience, but I appreciate it.

3. 3nouncountableBritisheuphemistic

   A public toilet.

   Grammar: Used in British English, often as public convenience.

   Patterns

   • a public convenience

   The sign pointed to the public conveniences in the park.

   He asked a stranger where the nearest convenience was.

   The town has built new conveniences near the beach.

Word forms

Common combinations

for your convenience

For your convenience, the shop opens late on Fridays.

at your convenience

Please reply at your convenience.

convenience store

I bought milk at the convenience store.

convenience food

Convenience food saves time on busy evenings.

modern conveniences

The cottage has all the modern conveniences.

marriage of convenience

Their partnership was just a marriage of convenience.

Synonyms and how they differ

ease

Ease means freedom from difficulty, while convenience is about how well something suits your needs.

usefulness

Usefulness is about being of practical value, and does not imply saving time or effort in the same way.

advantage

Advantage is a broader word for a helpful feature, not necessarily linked to time or effort.

comfort

Comfort stresses physical or mental ease, which is different from simply being handy.

Opposites

Word family

convenient adjective

easy to use or reach and suitable for your plans

conveniently adverb

in a handy, easy way

inconvenience noun

trouble or difficulty caused to someone

inconvenient adjective

causing difficulty or bad timing

Commonly confused: convenience or convenient?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “convenience”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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