Urgency

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɜː.d͡ʒən.si/

Definitions

1. The quality of requiring immediate action or attention due to importance or time pressure
2. The state of needing prompt action or attention due to significant importance or a limited timeframe
3. A condition that compels swift action or consideration because of its critical nature or impending deadline

Etymology: The word "urgency" comes from "urgent," which traces back through French to the Latin "urgere," meaning "to press, drive on, or push hard." The Latin root gives the sense of being pushed or squeezed toward something, which is why modern urgency still carries the feeling of a deadline bearing down on you. English speakers have long had a choice between two routes to the same idea. The noun can be built directly on "urgent" by adding the suffix "-ency," a common English ending for quality or state, or it can be borrowed from the Latin "urgentia," a form of the same verb. Both routes end in the same place, so the noun is less a single inherited word than a meeting point of English word-building and Latin vocabulary.

Synonyms: immediacy, importance, necessity, pressure, haste

Antonyms: leisure, unimportance, delay, calmness, slowness