urgent

urgent — adjective

1. Something that is urgent must be handled quickly and without delay, either becau

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Something that is urgent must be handled quickly and without delay, either because it matters very much or because waiting would create problems.

Example

The hospital received an urgent call about a patient with severe chest pain.

collocation: urgent + call / urgent + matter

Ava had to leave the meeting early to deal with an urgent family matter.

Common collocations
  • urgent call
  • urgent matter
  • urgent need
  • urgent attention
  • urgent care
  • urgent email
  • urgent problem
Synonyms
  • pressing

    very similar in meaning, often used for matters needing an immediate decision; slightly less strong than 'urgent'

  • critical

    emphasises the risk of serious harm or crisis if not handled; stronger than 'urgent'

  • crucial

    focuses on importance rather than time; something can be crucial without being urgent

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

it is urgent that + subject + (should) + base verb

urgent + noun

Usage Note

Often used in official or medical contexts. The pattern 'it is urgent that…' is followed by a subjunctive verb in formal English (e.g., 'it is urgent that he be told') or 'should' in less formal use.

Common Mistakes

This is an urgent document for the meeting.' (when meaning important but not time-sensitive)
This is an important document for the meeting.
'Urgent' always implies time pressure, not just importance.

2. An urgent action or way of behaving shows that someone is asking for something v

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

An urgent action or way of behaving shows that someone is asking for something very repeatedly and strongly, in a manner that is difficult to ignore or refuse.

Example

Élise could hear her brother's urgent whispers from the next room, begging her to help.

collocation: urgent whisper

The child's urgent knocking on the door continued even after everyone had gone to bed.

collocation: urgent knocking

Common collocations
  • urgent whisper
  • urgent gesture
  • urgent tone
  • urgent request
  • urgent knocking
  • urgent message
Synonyms
  • insistent

    closest synonym; more direct about the repeated asking

  • importunate

    formal synonym, emphasises that the request is hard to refuse or ignore

  • persistent

    broader in meaning; can describe any repeated action, not necessarily with urgency

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

urgent + noun (whisper, gesture, request, tone)

Usage Note

Frequently describes non-verbal communication — a look, a whisper, a knock, a gesture. Distinguished from sense 1 in that the focus is on the person's insistence rather than the objective importance of the matter.

Common Mistakes

He gave me an urgent look because his train was leaving soon.' (uses sense 2 when sense 1 is meant — his hurry, not his insistence)
He gave me an urgent look because he needed my help right away.
For sense 2, the person is insistently asking for something, not simply in a hurry.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These four words overlap with 'urgent' but each shifts the emphasis differently. 'Pressing' is the closest synonym and is often used for matters that demand an immediate decision, though it sounds slightly less strong than 'urgent'. 'Critical' introduces the idea of potential crisis — if a critical issue is ignored, serious harm or failure is likely. 'Crucial' focuses on importance to an outcome rather than time pressure; a step can be crucial to a plan without being urgent at all. 'Imperative' is the strongest in tone, suggesting something must be done because it is absolutely necessary or required by rules. For example: the hospital called it an 'urgent case' (time-critical); the doctor called it a 'critical case' (life-threatening); choosing the right drug was 'crucial' (importance); wearing protective gear was 'imperative' (must-do, by regulation).

pressingcritical ↗crucial ↗imperative ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • extremely urgent
  • most urgent
  • increasingly urgent
  • particularly urgent
  • very urgent

Phrases

  • it is urgent that

Prepositions

  • urgent for
  • urgent in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'urgent' comes from Latin 'urgentem', the present participle of 'urgere', meaning 'to press, drive, or push'. It passed into English through French in the 1400s, first with the literal sense of 'pressing hard', and then by the 1600s it took on the figurative meaning of a matter that presses for attention.