exigency
/ˈɛksɪdʒ(ə)nsi
/ /ˈɛɡzɪdʒ(ə)nsi/ /ɪɡˈzɪdʒ(ə)nsi/ /ɛɡˈzɪdʒ(ə)nsi/noun (plural exigencies)
An urgent need or demand: women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it [mass noun]: he put financial exigency before personal sentiment...
- The exigencies of journalism demand instant appraisals and on-the-spot verdicts.
- Is it because the exigencies of politics demand the assistance of the police?
- But the question of the foundation of value has simply been displaced: now it is my job that, in my active engagement, takes on the unquestioned exigency of a demand or value.
Synonyms
need, demand, requirement, want;
necessity, essential, requisite
urgency, emergency, extremity, crisis, difficulty, pressure
Origin
Late 16th century: from late Latin exigentia, from Latin exigere 'enforce' (see exact).