necessitate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make necessary or unavoidable.
The breakdown of the car necessitated a change in our plans.
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to compel, oblige, or force.
The new wage demand will necessitate a price increase.
verb
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to cause as an unavoidable and necessary result
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(usually passive) to compel or require (someone to do something)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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necessitatesimple
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necessitatessimple
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have necessitatedperfect
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has necessitatedperfect
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am necessitatingprogressive
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are necessitatingprogressive
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is necessitatingprogressive
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have been necessitatingperfect progressive
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has been necessitatingperfect progressive
Past
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necessitatedsimple
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had necessitatedperfect
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was necessitatingprogressive
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were necessitatingprogressive
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had been necessitatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of necessitate
1620–30; < Medieval Latin necessitātus, past participle of necessitāre to compel, constrain. See necessity, -ate 1
Explanation
The verb necessitate shows that something is necessary or needs to happen, as when a sweet tooth can necessitate a trip to the store for a triple-scoop ice cream — which will necessitate a trip to the gym. Synonyms for necessitate are "require" and "force." Although what's required may be serious, necessitate also just labels things that follow naturally from one step to another. A dead car battery might necessitate a long walk home, or your completion of skills tests might necessitate moving up to the next level. Necessitate commonly replaces "need" when doctors talk about treatment, so while your scraped knee might need a big bandage, it may "necessitate treatment with antibiotics" if you go to a clinic.
Vocabulary lists containing necessitate
Metamorphosis
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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.
A feedback loop can be created where rising prices necessitate more buying to hedge options positions.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
The allegations against Cesar Chavez represent a definitive puncturing of the myth surrounding the civil rights icon and necessitate a comprehensive reckoning with how Latino communities elevated him despite warning signs of moral failings.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
Danske’s Carsten Lonborg Madsen had pencilled in a revenue decline of between zero and minus 8% so the minus 5% to minus 13% range will necessitate a downgrade from him.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026
He said schools would communicate any steps they were taking to parents and students and it "may necessitate the closure or partial closure of a site where the situation is particularly severe".
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025
I tried to choose a figure that would not sound too drastic yet would necessitate my coming back to fill in the gaps.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
