Meanings
comparative more urgent · superlative most urgent
- Of people: insistent, solicitous.
[…] and she was wildly urgent to be gone.
1811, [Jane Austen], chapter 31, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume III, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC2 more examples
The Egyptians were vrgent vpon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus XIIMy kind friends here are most affectionately urgent with me to prolong my stay […].
c. 1794, Jane Austen, “[Lady Susan.]”, in J[ames] E[dward] Austen[-]Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen: […] to which is Added Lady Susan and Fragments of Two Other Unfinished Tales by Miss Austen, 2nd edition, London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], published 1871, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecompelling immediate action
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*werǵʰ-“bind, squeeze”
- Latinurgēns
- Middle Frenchurgent“pressing, impelling”
- Englishurgent
Borrowed from Middle French urgent (“pressing, impelling”), from Latin urgēns, from urgēre (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Equivalent to urge + -ent. Related to German würgen (“to strangle”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string, tighten, constrict”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”), Polish otwierać (“to open”)) and English worry, wring, wreak, wreck.
More words from Middle French, Latin, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُسْتَعْجَل, عَاجِل
- مُسْتَعْجَل (mustaʕjal)requiring immediate attention
- عَاجِل (ʕājil)requiring immediate attention
- مُلِحّ (muliḥḥ)requiring immediate attention
Bulgarian сро́чен, спе́шен
- сро́чен (sróčen)requiring immediate attention
- спе́шен (spéšen)requiring immediate attention
- неотложен (neotložen)requiring immediate attention
Catalan urgent
- urgentrequiring immediate attention
Chinese Mandarin 緊急 /紧急, 緊迫 /紧迫
- 緊急 /紧急 (jǐnjí)requiring immediate attention
- 緊迫 /紧迫 (jǐnpò)requiring immediate attention
- 急迫 (jípò)requiring immediate attention
Czech naléhavý, urgentní
- naléhavýrequiring immediate attention
- urgentnírequiring immediate attention
Danish påtrængende, presserende
- påtrængenderequiring immediate attention
- presserenderequiring immediate attention
- uopsætteligrequiring immediate attention
Dutch dringend
- dringendrequiring immediate attention
Esperanto urĝa
- urĝarequiring immediate attention
Finnish kiireellinen
- kiireellinenrequiring immediate attention
French urgent
- urgentrequiring immediate attention
German dringend, dringlich
- dringendrequiring immediate attention
- dringlichrequiring immediate attention
- eiligrequiring immediate attention
Greek επείγων
- επείγων (epeígon)requiring immediate attention
Hebrew דחוף
- דחוף (dakhúf)requiring immediate attention
Hungarian sürgős
- sürgősrequiring immediate attention
Indonesian mendesak
- mendesakrequiring immediate attention
Irish práinneach
- práinneachrequiring immediate attention
Italian urgente
- urgenterequiring immediate attention
Japanese 緊急の, 急を要する
- 緊急の (kinkyū no)requiring immediate attention
- 急を要する (kyū o yō-suru)requiring immediate attention
Korean 긴급한
- 긴급한 (gin'geuphan)requiring immediate attention
Latin instans
- instansrequiring immediate attention
Māori nonoi, kōhukihuki
- nonoirequiring immediate attention
- kōhukihukirequiring immediate attention
Polish pilny
- pilnyrequiring immediate attention
Portuguese urgente
- urgenterequiring immediate attention
Russian сро́чный, э́кстренный
- сро́чный (sróčnyj)requiring immediate attention
- э́кстренный (ékstrennyj)requiring immediate attention
- неотло́жный (neotlóžnyj)requiring immediate attention
- спе́шный (spéšnyj)requiring immediate attention
Scottish Gaelic faochnach
- faochnachrequiring immediate attention
Slovak naliehavý
- naliehavýrequiring immediate attention
Spanish urgente, acuciante
- urgenterequiring immediate attention
- acucianterequiring immediate attention
- apremianterequiring immediate attention
- apremiarrequiring immediate attention
Swedish brådskande
- brådskanderequiring immediate attention
Thai ด่วน
- ด่วน (dùuan)requiring immediate attention
Turkish acil, ivedi
- acilrequiring immediate attention
- ivedirequiring immediate attention
Ukrainian терміно́вий, спі́шний
- терміно́вий (terminóvyj)requiring immediate attention
- спі́шний (spíšnyj)requiring immediate attention
- пи́льний (pýlʹnyj)requiring immediate attention
- нега́йний (nehájnyj)requiring immediate attention
Yiddish אײַליק
- אײַליק (aylik)requiring immediate attention
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with urgent
Anagrams
Cite this entry
urgent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/urgent
“urgent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/urgent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “urgent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/urgent.
Source: urgent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.