necessity

[ nuh-ses-i-tee ]

noun

, plural ne·ces·si·ties.

1. something necessary or indispensable:

   food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

2. the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability:

   the necessity of adequate housing.

3. an imperative requirement or need for something:

   the necessity for a quick decision.

   Synonyms: demand

4. the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable:

   to face the necessity of testifying in court.

5. an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something:

   not by choice but by necessity.

6. a state of being in financial need; poverty:

   a family in dire necessity.

   Synonyms: want, indigence, neediness

7. Philosophy. the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws.

necessity

/ nɪˈsɛsɪtɪ /

noun

1. sometimes plural something needed for a desired result; prerequisite

   necessities of life

2. a condition or set of circumstances, such as physical laws or social rules, that inevitably requires a certain result

   it is a matter of necessity to wear formal clothes when meeting the Queen

3. the state or quality of being obligatory or unavoidable
4. urgent requirement, as in an emergency or misfortune

   in time of necessity we must all work together

5. poverty or want
6. rare.
   compulsion through laws of nature; fate
7. philosophy
   1. a condition, principle, or conclusion that cannot be otherwise
   2. the constraining force of physical determinants on all aspects of life Compare freedom
8. logic
   1. the property of being necessary
   2. a statement asserting that some property is essential or statement is necessarily true
   3. the operator that indicates that the expression it modifies is true in all possible worlds Usual symbol
9. of necessity
   of necessity inevitably; necessarily

Other Words From

• nonne·cessi·ty noun plural nonnecessities
• super·ne·cessi·ty noun plural supernecessities

Word History and Origins

Origin of necessity¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English necessite, from Latin necessitās, from necess(e) “needful” + -itās -ity

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. of necessity, as an inevitable result; unavoidably; necessarily:

   Our trip to China must of necessity be postponed for a while.

More idioms and phrases containing necessity

In addition to the idiom beginning with necessity , also see make a virtue of necessity ; of necessity .

Synonym Study

See need.

Example Sentences

When I talked to lawyers about how to delay filing a Form D, all gave the standard perfunctory response about the necessity of filing — until we went off-the-record.

From TechCrunch

The best Valentine’s Day gifts to give and receive are those given based upon both feeling and necessity.

From Popular-Science

Economists see such savings as a sign the family did not need the money for basic necessities.

From Washington Post

We believe a far greater number of people can’t afford internet, but are sacrificing other necessities.

From MIT Technology Review

Every play during a pandemic is, by necessity, experimental.

From Quartz

I had to create plays out of necessity, because African women deserved a voice and a place on the stage.

From The Daily Beast

All of these changes to college financing occurred at exactly the time when college education became a necessity.

From The Daily Beast

Nazi texts proclaimed that the annihilation or expulsion of the Armenians was a “compelling necessity.”

From The Daily Beast

The heartbreaking death of MTV reality TV personality Diem Brown proves the emotional necessity and value of the reality TV genre.

From The Daily Beast

After all, the Prince of necessity had to focus on defeating his external enemies.

From The Daily Beast

Sometimes necessity makes an honest man a knave: and a rich man a honest man, because he has no occasion to be a knave.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a tremendous necessity for an example of the resurrection of an ordinary man.

From Project Gutenberg

Ha—assure you we quite understand; no necessity to say another word about it.

From Project Gutenberg

The proudest man in Christendom has found no friend in his extremest necessity, but you his bitterest enemy!

From Project Gutenberg

Quiet and good natured, when necessity arose he never failed to assert his authority.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• essential
• fundamental
• obligation
• precondition
• prerequisite
• requirement
• urgency