unnecessary
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
In fact, no critic has attacked all consumption of all goods, only the goods the critic considered unnecessary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
Warsh’s first months as chair will test whether the Fed can maintain inflation credibility while avoiding unnecessary damage to an already pressured consumer economy.
From Salon • Jun. 1, 2026
Because the metasurface itself concentrates the incoming radiation, external focusing components such as silicon lenses are unnecessary.
From Science Daily • May 31, 2026
Sentencing at the city's crown court earlier, Judge Nicholas Dean said the collision on 9 March was "wholly unnecessary and entirely avoidable".
From BBC • May 29, 2026
“You must find out all you can,” said Mr. Benedict sternly, “and you must report it to me, but you must take no unnecessary risks. Your mission is dangerous enough as it is.”
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
