URGENCY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does urgency mean? 

• URGENCY (noun)
  The noun URGENCY has 4 senses:

1. the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity

2. pressing importance requiring speedy action

3. an urgent situation calling for prompt action

4. insistent solicitation and entreaty

  Familiarity information: URGENCY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• URGENCY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("urgency" is a kind of...):

necessity (the condition of being essential or indispensable)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "urgency"):

haste; hurry (a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry)

imperativeness; insistence; insistency; press; pressure (the state of demanding notice or attention)

criticality; criticalness; cruciality (a state of critical urgency)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Pressing importance requiring speedy action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

the urgency of his need

Hypernyms ("urgency" is a kind of...):

importance (the quality of being important and worthy of note)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "urgency"):

edge; sharpness (the attribute of urgency in tone of voice)

imperativeness; instancy (the quality of being insistent)

Derivation:

urgent (compelling immediate action)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An urgent situation calling for prompt action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

they departed hurriedly because of some great urgency in their affairs

Hypernyms ("urgency" is a kind of...):

situation (a complex or critical or unusual difficulty)

Derivation:

urgent (compelling immediate action)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Insistent solicitation and entreaty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

importunity; urgency; urging

Context example:

his importunity left me no alternative but to agree

Hypernyms ("urgency" is a kind of...):

solicitation (an entreaty addressed to someone of superior status)

Derivation:

urge (push for something)

 Context examples 

Terminology associated with the procedure urgency status codelist of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) Standard Data Tabulation Model (SDTM).

(CDISC SDTM Procedure Urgency Status Terminology, NCI Thesaurus)

A terminology codelist that describes the degree of urgency for a procedure.

(CDISC SDTM Procedure Urgency Status Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Some people may have pain without urgency or frequency.

(Interstitial Cystitis, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

I feared that no telegram would convince you of the absolute urgency of the case.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was under great difficulties between urgency and shame.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

But, in spite of all her friends' urgency, and her own wish of seeing Ireland, Miss Fairfax prefers devoting the time to you and Mrs. Bates?

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Scale (PDQUALIF) I have difficulty with bladder control (frequency, urgency, inability).

(PDQUALIF - Bladder Control Difficulty, NCI Thesaurus)

And now you see the deadly urgency of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to caution.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Be as soft as a mouse, or the Cat'll hear us.” I understood this to mean Miss Murdstone, and was sensible of the urgency of the case; her room being close by.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Test names of questionnaire questions associated with the urgency perception scale questionnaire for the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) Standard Data Tabulation Model (SDTM).

(CDISC Questionnaire UPS Test Name Terminology, NCI Thesaurus)