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necessary
[ nes-uh-ser-ee ]
/ ˈnɛs əˌsɛr i /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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.
OTHER WORDS FOR necessary
1 required, needed.
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Origin of necessary
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English necessarie, from Latin necessārius “unavoidable, inevitable, needful,” equivalent to necess(e) (neuter indeclinable adjective) “unavoidable, necessary” + -ārius -ary
synonym study for necessary
1. 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.
OTHER WORDS FROM necessary
nec·es·sar·i·ness, nounqua·si-nec·es·sar·y, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH necessary
necessary , necessitousWords nearby necessary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use necessary in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for necessary
necessary
/ (ˈnɛsɪsərɪ) /
adjective
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
See also necessaries
Word Origin for necessary
C14: from Latin necessārius indispensable, from necesse unavoidable
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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