necessary

[ nes-uh-ser-ee ]

/ ˈnɛs əˌsɛr i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR necessary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

being essential, indispensable, or requisite: a necessary part of the motor.

happening or existing by necessity: a necessary change in our plans.

acting or proceeding from compulsion or necessity; not free; involuntary: a necessary agent.

Logic.

(of a proposition) such that a denial of it involves a self-contradiction.
(of an inference or argument) such that its conclusion cannot be false if its supporting premises are true.
(of a condition) such that it must exist if a given event is to occur or a given thing is to exist.Compare sufficient(def 2).

noun, plural nec·es·sar·ies.

something necessary or required for a particular purpose; necessity.

necessaries, Law. food, clothing, etc., required by a dependent or incompetent and varying with his or her social or economic position or that of the person upon whom he or she is dependent.

Chiefly New England. a privy or toilet.

Nearby words

necator, necatoriasis, necessarian, necessaries, necessarily, necessary, necessary condition, necessary stool, necessitarian, necessitarianism, necessitate

Origin of necessary

1300–50; Middle English necessarie < Latin necessārius unavoidable, inevitable, needful, equivalent to necess(e) (neuter indeclinable adj.) unavoidable, necessary + -ārius -ary

SYNONYMS FOR necessary

1 required, needed. Necessary, essential, indispensable, requisite indicate something vital for the fulfillment of a need. Necessary applies to something without which a condition cannot be fulfilled or to an inevitable consequence of certain events, conditions, etc.: Food is necessary to life. Multiplicity is a necessary result of division. Indispensable applies to something that cannot be done without or removed from the rest of a unitary condition: Food is indispensable to living things. He made himself indispensable as a companion. Something that is essential forms a vitally necessary condition of something: Air is essential to red-blooded animals. It is essential to understand the matter clearly. Requisite applies to what is thought necessary to fill out, complete, or perfect something: She had all the requisite qualifications for a position.

5 requirement, requisite, essential.

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ANTONYMS FOR necessary

1 dispensable.

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Related forms

nec·es·sar·i·ness, nounqua·si-nec·es·sar·y, adjective

Can be confused

necessary necessitous (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for necessary

He could order the Justice Department to begin the necessary regulatory work.
Obama’s Pot Policy Is Refer Madness|James Poulos|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet, what my peers do not realize – or cannot handle – is that rejection is a necessary part of forging a romantic relationships.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But as is her way, Kaling defended why the episode was not only funny, but necessary.
Year of the Butt: How the Booty Changed the World in 2014|Kevin Fallon|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unfortunately, the underground tunnels that were used to transport booze and, if necessary, escaping patrons, are off-limits.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

However, we have just had a necessary wake-up call that all is not as secure as we believed.
A Gift to the Jihadis: The Unseen Airport Security Threat|Clive Irving|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And this is all that is necessary as a preliminary to the discussion of just profits.
Distributive Justice|John A. (John Augustine) Ryan
As I have already said, we had made four oars, but our boat was so small that only two were necessary.
The Coral Island|R. M. Ballantyne
And considering the pressure of the necessary preparation for schools, the temptation to shun the byways is very great.
An American at Oxford|John Corbin
He denied that he was party to the attempt, and paid the necessary fee to the Hanaper for his pardon.
William de Colchester|Ernest Harold Pearce
He was aware that his speech was growing far louder than necessary.
Cytherea|Joseph Hergesheimer

British Dictionary definitions for necessary

necessary

/ (ˈnɛsɪsərɪ) /

adjective

needed to achieve a certain desired effect or result; required

resulting from necessity; inevitablethe necessary consequences of your action

logic

(of a statement, formula, etc) true under all interpretations or in all possible circumstances
(of a proposition) determined to be true by its meaning, so that its denial would be self-contradictory
(of a property) essential, so that without it its subject would not be the entity it is
(of an inference) always yielding a true conclusion when its premises are true; valid
(of a condition) entailed by the truth of some statement or the obtaining of some state of affairsCompare sufficient (def. 2)

philosophy (in a nonlogical sense) expressing a law of nature, so that if it is in this sense necessary that all As are B, even although it is not contradictory to conceive of an A which is not B, we are licensed to infer that if something were an A it would have to be B

rare compelled, as by necessity or law; not free

noun

the necessary informal the money required for a particular purpose

do the necessary informal to do something that is necessary in a particular situation

Word Origin for necessary

C14: from Latin necessārius indispensable, from necesse unavoidable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

necessary

adjective

noun, plural nec·es·sar·ies.

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Nearby words

Origin of necessary

SYNONYMS FOR necessary

ANTONYMS FOR necessary

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for necessary

British Dictionary definitions for necessary

necessary

adjective

noun

Word Origin for necessary