Word Confusion: Expedient versus Expeditious

Posted March 29, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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This word confusion expedient vs expeditious was an eye-opener for me.

I had no idea that expedient involved morality or suitability.

And it seems that expeditious is simply about being quick.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.

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Expedient	Expeditious
Trout Fishing on Lochan Vataleois by Roddy MacDonald is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Geograph.org.uk. — When fishing, it is expedient to wear waders . . . and use a fishing rod.	Supersonic Airliner Concorde is W. Bulach‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — The Concorde is an expeditious way to fly.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Noun Plural for the noun: expedients	Adjective
Adjective: [Of an action] Convenient and practical although possibly improper or immoral [Of an action] Suitable or appropriate Tending to promote some proposed or desired object Fit or suitable for the purpose Proper under the circumstances Governed by self-interest Conducive to advantage or interest, as opposed to right Acting in accordance with what is advantageous Noun: A means of attaining an end, especially one that is convenient but considered improper or immoral A means devised or employed in an urgent situation Resource Shift	Adjective: Characterized by promptness Quick
Examples:
Adjective: Either side could break the agreement if it were expedient to do so. Holding a public inquiry into the scheme was not expedient. It is expedient that you go. It was a politically expedient decision. Noun: The current policy is a political expedient. The ladder was a useful expedient for getting to the second floor. Use any expedients you think necessary to get over the obstacles in your way.	It was an expeditious answer to an inquiry. The reason for that inertia is simple: We prefer violence because it is the most expeditious, efficient, effective, and easiest solution to most problems, if not all. What he did is designed to eliminate those delays, to bring this process to a speedy and expeditious conclusion.
Derivatives:
Adjective: nonexpedient, quasi-expedient Adverb: expediently, nonexpediently Noun: expedience	Adjective: nonexpeditious Adverb: expeditiously Noun: expeditiousness, nonexpeditiousness
History of the Word:
Late Middle English from the Latin expedient- meaning extricating, putting in order, from the verb expedire meaning extricate (originally by freeing the feet) put in order, from ex- (out) + pes, ped- (foot).	Late 15th century, from expedition + -ous.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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