urgency

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈɜːdʒənsi/ 🇺🇸 /ˈɜrdʒənsiː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The quality or state of being urgent; the condition of requiring immediate action or attention.; A pressing need or necessity that requires prompt action.; An earnest or insistent quality in speech, manner, or expression that conveys the importance of something.; In medicine, a sudden and compelling need to urinate or defecate, often associated with a medical condition.; A sense of importance or criticality that motivates swift decision-making or action, often used in business or management contexts.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable / uncountable Plural: urgencies

Collocations

sense of urgencya matter of urgencywith urgencycreate a sense of urgencyfeeling of urgencywith great urgency

Derivatives

urgenturgentlyurge

Synonyms

pressingnessimportancecriticalityimperativenesshasteemergency

Antonyms

leisurecalmrelaxation

Commonly confused

emergency
EN: 'Urgency' is the quality or state of being urgent (abstract); 'emergency' is a specific sudden crisis situation requiring immediate action.
urgency vs. agency
EN: 'Urgency' relates to time pressure; 'agency' relates to the capacity to act or a representative organization.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'urgency' ends in '-ency' (not '-ancy'), consistent with its root 'urgent'. The plural is 'urgencies' (change 'y' to 'i' + 'es').

💬 Examples

  1. The urgency of the situation demanded an immediate response from the authorities.

  2. She felt a sudden urgency to leave the building when she heard the alarm.

  3. There was a note of urgency in his voice as he pleaded for help.

  4. The patient reported urinary urgency as one of her primary symptoms.

  5. The CEO tried to instill a sense of urgency among the team to meet the deadline.