Exigent

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈɛk.sɪ.dÊ’É™nt/, /ˈɛɡ.zɪ.dÊ’É™nt/

Origin

From Latin exigēns, present active participle of exigō ("demand, require").

Full definition of exigent

Adjective

1. Urgent; needing immediate action.
• 2003, , U.S. Department of DefenceArticle 2 also provides that acts of torture cannot be justified on the grounds of exigent circumstances, such as state of war or public emergency, or on orders from a superior officer or public authority.
2. Demanding; needing great effort.

Related terms

• exigence
• exigency
• exigently

Derived terms

• allocatur exigent

Noun

1. (archaic) Extremity; end; limit; pressing urgency
• 1591, , by William ShakespeareThese eyes, like lamps whose wasting oil is spent,
  Wax dim, as drawing to their exigent;
• 1611, Authorized King James Version,Therefore as one complaineth, that always in the Senate of Rome, 5° de finibus. there was one or other that called for an interpreter: so lest the Church be driven to the like exigent, it is necessary to have translations in a readiness.
2. (obsolete, UK, legal) The name of a writ in proceedings before outlawry.