exigent
adjective
ˈeg-zə-
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Exigent is a formal word with meanings closely tied to its Latin forbear, exigere, meaning "to demand." Exigent things and people demand attention—for example, an exigent client expects so much that they are hard to satisfy, and exigent circumstances are so significant that they can be used to justify certain police actions without the warrant typically required. Before exigent joined the language in the early 1600s, the noun exigency was being used to refer to something that is necessary in a particular situation—for example, the exigencies of an emergency situation might require that certain usual precautions be ignored. That word dates to the late 1500s, but even earlier, in the mid-1400s, exigence was on the scene doing the same job. All three words—exigent, exigency, and exigence—continue to meet the demands of English users, albeit not frequently in everyday conversation.
Synonyms
Examples of exigent in a Sentence
Alonzo Martinez, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
An unwelcome impression begins to gather, that these places, these people, are being relegated to bit players in the larger, more exigent story of Coates’s intellectual evolution, his contemplation of his career and legacy.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
One of the most exigent scenes to watch in the documentary is when the lawyers take the Pegattis through the arduous process of hearing graphic and devastating details about the murder.
—Daniel Scheffler, SPIN, 10 June 2024
It's used for humanitarian purposes or for exigent circumstances.
—Ally Schweitzer, NPR, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for exigent 
Dictionary Entries Near exigent
Cite this Entry
“Exigent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exigent. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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exigent
adjective
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