unnecessary
Americanadjective
noun
plural
unnecessariesadjective
Other Word Forms
- unnecessarily adverb
- unnecessariness noun
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.
Making PE a core subject in schools and removing unnecessary 'no ball games' signs are among the recommendations in a new report looking at barriers to sport and physical activity in England.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
It’s a move that feels unnecessary for a show that can still steer the conversation, not follow behind it.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
Critics have been swift to paint the purchase as unnecessary.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
She said an “open-ended strike is unnecessary and risks disruption for patients, students, and campus operations.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
If it had, Giotto would have completed the perspectival revolution, Brunelleschi’s images would have been unnecessary, and Alberti would have had nothing new to say.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
