unnecessary
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unnecessary
Explanation
Anything that is extra or not needed is unnecessary. Wearing long underwear in July is an unnecessary precaution against being cold. If you don't need something, it's unnecessary. You take an unnecessary risk if you get in the car and don't bother to fasten your seatbelt. Driving your car when you could ride a bike instead is an unnecessary use of gasoline. If you keep dropping you pen in class, your teacher might say, "That's unnecessary." Walking your dog with two leashes is definitely unnecessary. That's obvious, but lots of times it's hard to tell what's necessary and what's unnecessary.
Vocabulary lists containing unnecessary
List 3
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List 9
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"New Michigan Graduation Requirements Shortchange Many Students"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If many of these patients do not actually benefit, doctors could eventually reduce unnecessary medication use, limit side effects, and make recovery regimens easier to follow.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
Such military presence, said Weidel, “is unnecessary in our view.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
These unnecessary preventative measures aren’t just a nuisance for the consumer; they’re a hassle for the overworked, underpaid employee who spends their shift telling customers, “No, we don’t have more of that in the back.”
From Salon • May 22, 2026
"It's ridiculous, unnecessary and costly and actually makes the machinery worse," the billionaire president added.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
“We have to cut back on all unnecessary spending for a while.”
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
