Meanings
comparative more expeditious · superlative most expeditious
- Fast, prompt, speedy.First known use 1590s
Near-synonym: expedited
2 more examples
Our coachman and horses are so extremely expeditious!—I believe we drive faster than anybody.
1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Emma: […], volume III, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 15An “expeditious cessation of hostilities” is essential to “stabilise European economies, prevent unintended escalation or expansion of the war and re-establish strategic stability with Russia”, the document says.
2025 December 6, “US security strategy urges ‘resistance’ to Europe and shrugs off Russian threat”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1Synonyms: expedited
- Completed or done with efficiency and speed; facilitating speed.
Near-synonym: expedited
2 more examples
As they thus pressed forward, longing doubtless to exchange the easy curving line, which the sinuosities of the bay compelled them to adopt, for a straiter and more expeditious path, though less conformable to the line of beauty, Sir Arthur observed a human figure on the beach advancing to meet them.
1816, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in The Antiquary. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 153Now, there was a sort of rough-and-ready law in Ireland in those days which was of great convenience to persons desirous of expeditious justice[…].
1844 January–December, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “I return to Ireland, and exhibit my splendour and generosity in that kingdom”, in “The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. [The Luck of Barry Lyndon.]”, in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, volume III, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1856, →OCLC, page 199Synonyms: expedited
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFast, prompt, speedy.
adjectiveCompleted or done with efficiency and speed; facilitating speed.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivemarked by speed and efficiency
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinexpedītus“disengaged, ready, convenient, prompt; unfettered, unencumbered”
- Middle Englishexpedycius“useful, fitting”
- Englishexpeditious
From Middle English expedycius (“useful, fitting”), from Latin expedītus (“disengaged, ready, convenient, prompt; unfettered, unencumbered”), past participle of expediō.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian бърз, експедитивен
- бърз (bărz)Fast, prompt, speedy
- експедитивен (ekspeditiven)Fast, prompt, speedy
Finnish joutuisa, pikainen
- joutuisaFast, prompt, speedy
- pikainenFast, prompt, speedy
German schnell, zügig
- schnellFast, prompt, speedy
- zügigFast, prompt, speedy
Italian veloce, rapido
- veloceFast, prompt, speedy
- rapidoFast, prompt, speedy
- tempestivoFast, prompt, speedy
Spanish eficiente, rapido
- eficienteFast, prompt, speedy
- rapidoFast, prompt, speedy
Cite this entry
expeditious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expeditious
“expeditious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expeditious. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “expeditious,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expeditious.
Source: expeditious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.