noun
Meaning 1
The quality or condition of being urgent.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
- the urgency of a demand
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
urgency
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Australian, UK: /ˈɜː.d͡ʒən.si/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Canada, US: /ˈɝ.d͡ʒən.si/
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rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)dʒənsi
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CMU ARPABET: ER1 JH AH0 N S IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
Insistence, pressure, urge.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
- I have this sudden urgency to use the toilet.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A sudden and compelling need to urinate that is difficult to defer, associated with conditions such as urinary tract infections and overactive bladder.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
pressing importance requiring speedy action
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the urgency of his need
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: importance
Narrower terms: edge, sharpness, imperativeness, instancy
noun
Meaning 5
insistent solicitation and entreaty
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- his importunity left me no alternative but to agree
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: importunity, urging
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: solicitation
noun
Meaning 6
an urgent situation calling for prompt action
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- I'll be there, barring any urgencies
- they departed hurriedly because of some great urgency in their affairs
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: situation
noun
Meaning 7
the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: necessity
Narrower terms: hurry, haste, imperativeness, insistence, insistency, press, pressure, criticality, criticalness, cruciality
History
Etymology
From urgent + -ency or Latin urgentia.
Across languages
Translations
33 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: спешност (spešnost) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Catalan: urgència — quality or condition of being urgent
- Chinese Mandarin: 緊迫 /紧迫 (jǐnpò) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Czech: naléhavost — quality or condition of being urgent
- Esperanto: urĝeco — quality or condition of being urgent
- Finnish: kiireellisyys — quality or condition of being urgent
- French: urgence — quality or condition of being urgent
- Galician: urxencia — quality or condition of being urgent
- German: Dringlichkeit — quality or condition of being urgent
- Greek: επείγον (epeígon) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Hindi: तत्कालीन (tatkālīn) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Hindi: तत्काल (tatkāl) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Ido: urjanteso — quality or condition of being urgent
- Ido: urjo — quality or condition of being urgent
- Indonesian: kêgêntingan — quality or condition of being urgent
- Italian: urgenza — quality or condition of being urgent
- Italian: urgenze — quality or condition of being urgent
- Ladino: urjensia — quality or condition of being urgent
- Latin: exigentia — quality or condition of being urgent
- Macedonian: и́тност (ítnost) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Persian: اورژانس — quality or condition of being urgent
- Polish: nagłość — quality or condition of being urgent
- Polish: pilność — quality or condition of being urgent
- Portuguese: urgência — quality or condition of being urgent
- Romanian: urgență — quality or condition of being urgent
- Russian: сро́чность (sróčnostʹ) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Spanish: urgencia — quality or condition of being urgent
- Spanish: premura — quality or condition of being urgent
- Spanish: apremio — quality or condition of being urgent
- Spanish: perentoriedad — quality or condition of being urgent
- Telugu: తొందర (tondara) — quality or condition of being urgent
- Turkish: aciliyet — quality or condition of being urgent
- Turkish: ivedilik — quality or condition of being urgent