necessitate

[nuh-ses-i-teyt]

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verb (used with object), ne·ces·si·tat·ed, ne·ces·si·tat·ing.

to make necessary or unavoidable: The breakdown of the car necessitated a change in our plans.

to compel, oblige, or force: The new wage demand will necessitate a price increase.

Origin of necessitate

1620–30; < Medieval Latin necessitātus, past participle of necessitāre to compel, constrain. See necessity, -ate¹

Related formsne·ces·si·ta·tion, nounne·ces·si·ta·tive, adjectivepre·ne·ces·si·tate, verb (used with object), pre·ne·ces·si·tat·ed, pre·ne·ces·si·tat·ing.un·ne·ces·si·tat·ed, adjectiveun·ne·ces·si·tat·ing, adjective

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

Related Words for necessitate

constrain, require, entail, force, behoove, oblige, make, compel, drive, impel, coerce, crave, command, take, demand, ask, postulate, cause

Examples from the Web for necessitate

Contemporary Examples of necessitate

The call to return to the real meaning of Christmas does not necessitate cracking the Good Book.
Sarah Palin Is Here to Save Christmas, Thank God
Candida Moss
November 13, 2013
Clearly, the close quarters necessitate interesting adjustments.
Nuns vs. Romney: The Sisters Hit the Battleground State of Ohio
Christine Howey
June 28, 2012
It will necessitate all the political and promotional skills she can muster.
Komen for the Cure: How the Group's Founder Courted Controversy
Sandra McElwaine
February 5, 2012

Historical Examples of necessitate

That did not necessitate masks and veils and sudden flights.
The Lure of the Mask
Harold MacGrath
That would, of course, necessitate the death of yourself and Crane.
The Skylark of Space
Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby
And hence their number does not necessitate plurality in God.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy
Isaac Husik
“So long as it does not necessitate any explanations,” indifferently.
The Place of Honeymoons
Harold MacGrath
This will necessitate the use of the bevel in laying off the shoulders of the tenons.
Mission Furniture
H. H. Windsor

British Dictionary definitions for necessitate

necessitate

verb (tr)

to cause as an unavoidable and necessary result

(usually passive) to compel or require (someone to do something)

Derived Formsnecessitation, nounnecessitative, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for necessitate

1620s, from Medieval Latin necessitatus, past participle of necessitare "to render necessary," from Latin necessitas (see necessity). Earlier verb in English was necessen (late 14c.). Related: Necessitated; necessitates; necessitating.