as in acute
needing immediate attention
I will need to put off everything but the most urgent issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of urgent
Commercial airplanes are required to have the traffic alert and collision avoidance system, called TCAS, which alerts pilots of other aircraft nearby and gives pilots urgent instructions to avoid collisions.
—
Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 3 Feb. 2025
Fighting famine right now in Sudan, providing urgent medical care.
—Anna Katharine Ping, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2025
On February 26, 2022, two days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, sent an urgent plea to Elon Musk to provide Internet access to the country through his Starlink system.
—Matt Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025
With thousands of homes gone, the various issues that have plagued the real estate industry since the '80s are just that much more urgent.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for urgent 
Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 3 Feb. 2025
Fighting famine right now in Sudan, providing urgent medical care.
—Anna Katharine Ping, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2025
On February 26, 2022, two days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, sent an urgent plea to Elon Musk to provide Internet access to the country through his Starlink system.
—Matt Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025
With thousands of homes gone, the various issues that have plagued the real estate industry since the '80s are just that much more urgent.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for urgent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for urgent
Adjective
-
Beyond the enormous needs of the skyrocketing number of war wounded, hundreds of thousands of people with acute and chronic illnesses were left with limited or no access to medicine and treatment.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC News,
2 Feb. 2025
-
The threat of Russian drones is so acute, artillery units can be reached when the sun tips into the horizon, and the light is vanishing.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
And while Wright brings defensive tenacity, his addition doesn’t necessarily address New York’s most pressing issue: a lack of size on the wings beyond starters OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Josh Hart, a tenacious rebounder, is still just 6-4.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2025
-
What To Know Shapiro's is rooted in a series of strategic investments designed to tackle the commonwealth's most pressing issues, from economic development to public safety and education funding.—
Claire Dickey,
Newsweek,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The blackouts have come alongside a dire economic situation in the country.—
Max Saltman,
CNN,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The dire situation prompted Dr. Vivek Murthy, then the U.S. surgeon general, to declare last year that social isolation and loneliness are a pressing health epidemic, on a par with smoking or obesity in terms of its detrimental effects.—
John Hewko,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
With rain that could be intense enough to cause #mudslides.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
-
The price war, sparked by Tesla two years ago, has become so intense that BYD asked its suppliers late last year to deliver hefty price reductions of 10% for the coming year.—
Hassan Tayir,
CNN,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Quan and DeBose, for all their talent, haven’t been given anything compelling to do — or really even say.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
-
In matters of texture, cotton, knits, and compelling fabrics arrived in the form of modern corsetry, slick pantsuits, and boisterous dresses in assorted hues.—
Robyn Mowatt,
Essence,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
When fear, exhaustion, or resignation crowds out citizens’ commitment to democracy, emergent authoritarianism begins to take root.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
-
Mahler-Werfel admired Gropius’s architectural talent but had little sympathy for the hyper-objectivity of the emergent Bauhaus movement.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile more and more citizens from chaotic parts of the world, under pressure from both dysfunctional governance and the droughts and floods of climate instability, are forced into the desperate flight to anywhere and nowhere of the refugee.—
Winslow Myers,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Instead, Butler, 35, joins a Golden State team with a 25-24 record and 10th in the Western Conference – but desperate to rocket up the standings and make another deep playoff run with Curry at 36.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
The Athletic,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The cultural conversation around parenting in later years is far more critical of women, yet often overlooks dads entirely.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
11 Feb. 2025
-
Visiting the White Lotus’ Thailand hotel to learn new techniques and share her own, Belinda’s arc is less pitiable this season, but her purpose is arguably even more critical.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near urgent
Cite this Entry
“Urgent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/urgent. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share