expedient

Universal Words noun, adjective noun an action that is useful or necessary for a particular purpose, but not always fair or right: The disease was controlled by the simple expedient of not allowing anyone to leave the city. adjective [notusuallybeforenoun] (of an action) useful or necessary for a particular purpose, but not always fair or right: The government has clearly decided that a cut in interest rates would be politically expedient. expediency noun [U]: He acted out of expediency, not principle.