Dictionary Definition
convenient adj
1 suited to your comfort or purpose or needs; "a
convenient excuse for not going" [ant: inconvenient]
2 easy to reach; "found a handy spot for the can
opener" [syn: handy,
ready to
hand(p)]
3 large and roomy (`convenient' is archaic in
this sense); "a commodious harbor"; "a commodious building suitable
for conventions" [syn: commodious] [ant: incommodious]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
Adjective
- Of or pertaining to convenience; simple; easy; expedient.
Translations
of or pertaining to convenience; simple; easy;
expedient
- Chinese: 方便 (fāngbiàn)
- Esperanto: oportuna
- Finnish: mukava, kätevä, sopiva
- Hebrew: נוח (noakh) , נוחה (nokha)
- French: commode
- Hungarian: kényelmes
- Icelandic: hentugur
- Interlingua: conveniente
- Italian: conveniente, comodo
- Japanese: 便利な (benrina)
- Polish: dogodny
- Spanish: conveniente
Extensive Definition
Convenience is anything that is intended to save
a time, energy or frustration. A convenience
store at a petrol
station, for example, sells items that have nothing to do with
gasoline/petrol, but it saves the consumer
from having to go to a grocery
store. "Convenience" is a very relative term and its meaning
tends to change over time. What was once a convenience (eg. an
automobile) is today
regarded as a normal part of life. Likewise today's luxuries may be
perceived in the same way in the future.
Some have criticised Western
culture, particularly American
culture, for its reliance on such conveniences. The Dead
Kennedys released an album called
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death, a pun on Patrick
Henry's famous quote and speech
"Give
me liberty or give me death". The Amish (such as the
Pennsylvania
Dutch) shun all modern conveniences, including electricity.
Supposed "conveniences" also sometimes turn out
to be a nuisance,
including personal
computers (can be difficult to use, though this is improving
gradually) and mobile
phones (with annoying rings and conversations in what would or
should be a quiet place). Conveniences also cost money to fix when they break down,
and may cause much greater costs if something else that depends on
them cannot take place. On the other hand, conveniences such as
direct
deposit can save everyone money, though this may or may not be
passed along to the consumer.
See also
convenient in Danish: Convenience
(forbruger)
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
accessible, adaptable, adjacent, advantageous, advisable, all-around,
appropriate, at
hand, auspicious,
available, becoming, befitting, close, close at hand, close-by,
comfortable,
comfy, commodious, congruous, contented, convenient to,
cozy, cushioned, cushiony, cushy, decent, desirable, ductile, easeful, easily reached,
easy, expedient, favorable, feasible, felicitous, fit, fitten, fitting, flexible, foolproof, fortunate, friendly, fructuous, good, handy, happy, helpful, homelike, homely, homey, immediate, likely, lived-in, lucky, luxurious, malleable, manageable, maneuverable, meet, near, nearby, next, nigh, of all work, on call, on
deck, on hand, on tap, opportune, peaceful, pliable, pliant, politic, practical, profitable, proper, propinquant, propinquous, propitious, providential, ready, ready at hand, recommendable, relaxing, reposeful, restful, right, ripe, roomy, seasonable, seemly, serviceable, snug, soft, sortable, suitable, timely, to be desired, to hand,
tractable, untroublesome, useful, versatile, warm, well-timed, wieldable, wieldy, wise, worthwhile, yielding