expedients
Quick practical fixes
Expedients are means to an end—actions or resources employed to achieve a goal, especially when circumstances require quick or practical solutions rather than ideal ones.
The word often carries a hint of compromise or moral flexibility: They resorted to whatever expedients were necessary to stay in business.
Political expedients may sacrifice principle for advantage.
The singular expedient functions as both noun and adjective: a temporary expedient, the expedient choice.
Temporary substitute measure
- workaroundMakeshift bypass of difficulty
- temporaryLimited in duration
- provisionalConditional and possibly temporary
- interimProvisional in-between phase
ad-hoc · improvised · makeshift · band-aid · kludge · patch · shortcut · placeholder
Orderly way of doing
- toolDevice for a task
- instrumentDevice for specific tasks
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
- vehicleMeans of transport
avenue · channel · recourse · option · alternative · measure · step · course
Suited for real use
- utilitarianPrioritizing function over beauty
- functionalAble to operate correctly
- workableAble to be implemented
- feasibleCapable of being done
sensible · realistic · effective · convenient · serviceable · efficient · useful · advantageous
Clever, original thinking
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- creativityCapacity for original thought
- adaptabilityAbility to adjust readily
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
cleverness · inventiveness · quick-thinking · problem-solving · innovation · versatility · shrewdness · wit
Planned action for advantage
- maneuverDeliberate tactical movement
- ployCalculated deceptive tactic
- schemeCalculated strategy, often secretive
- gambitRisky opening for advantage
contrivance · device · artifice · ruse · stratagem · subterfuge · machination · dodge
stopgap
Temporary substitute measure
- workaroundMakeshift bypass of difficulty
- temporaryLimited in duration
- provisionalConditional and possibly temporary
interim · ad-hoc · improvised · makeshift · band-aid · kludge · patch · shortcut · placeholder · contingency
method
Orderly way of doing
- toolDevice for a task
- instrumentDevice for specific tasks
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
vehicle · avenue · channel · recourse · option · alternative · measure · step · course · approach
practical
Suited for real use
- utilitarianPrioritizing function over beauty
- functionalAble to operate correctly
- workableAble to be implemented
feasible · sensible · realistic · effective · convenient · serviceable · efficient · useful · advantageous · beneficial
ingenuity
Clever, original thinking
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- creativityCapacity for original thought
- adaptabilityAbility to adjust readily
cunning · cleverness · inventiveness · quick-thinking · problem-solving · innovation · versatility · shrewdness · wit · dexterity
tactic
Planned action for advantage
- maneuverDeliberate tactical movement
- ployCalculated deceptive tactic
- schemeCalculated strategy, often secretive
gambit · contrivance · device · artifice · ruse · stratagem · subterfuge · machination · dodge · trick
expedientsprinciples
Foundational moral beliefs
ideals · scruples · ethics · moral standards · convictions
expedient, expediency, inexpedient, expedience, expediently, expediencies