Expediently

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Performed with an emphasis on practicality and benefit, usually prioritizing immediate gains over moral standards
2. Executed in a way that is beneficial and efficient, disregarding ethical implications in favor of swift results
3. Conducted in a manner that emphasizes convenience and effectiveness, often sacrificing ethical considerations for prompt advantages

Etymology: "Expediently" is a plain formation: the adjective "expedient" with the adverb suffix "-ly" added. The adjective is the older part, borrowed into English from Latin "expedire", a verb meaning to free something from entanglement, which led on to the sense of making a path clear, and from there to making a thing practical or advantageous. Its earlier meanings leaned toward what was useful or suitable for a given purpose, and only later did it take on the flavour of what is convenient rather than principled. The suffix traces back much further. The "-ly" ending descends from an Old English "-līċe", which was itself built from a word meaning "body" or "form", so that "-ly" once carried the sense of "in the form of" or "in the manner of". Over centuries it was reduced to the short ending seen today, and it became the standard way of turning an adjective into an adverb.

Synonyms: practically, conveniently, suitably, advantageously, efficiently

Antonyms: inefficiently, inconveniently, impractically, unfavorably, disadvantageously