exigency

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable or uncountableformal

   An urgent situation or need that demands quick action.

   Grammar: Often plural: the exigencies of war.

   Patterns

   • the exigencies of something
   • in an exigency

   The exigencies of war forced the city to ration food.

   In an exigency, the crew can use the emergency exit.

   Budget exigencies led to delays.

Word forms

Common combinations

exigencies of the situation

The exigencies of the situation required a fast reply.

financial exigency

The college declared a financial exigency.

meet the exigencies

Nurses must meet the exigencies of each shift.

in case of exigency

Keep spare keys in case of exigency.

Synonyms and how they differ

emergency

Emergency is the everyday word for a sudden dangerous event, while exigency is formal and stresses the demand it creates.

necessity

Necessity means something needed, not necessarily urgent.

pressure

Pressure is the general strain of demands, without the sense of a specific urgent need.

Word family

exigent adjective

urgent or demanding

Commonly confused: exigency or exiguous?

Practice

Make it your own

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

Explore more words