necessitate
Americanverb (used with object)
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necessitates,
present (3rd person singular)
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necessitated,
past participle, past
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necessitating
present participle
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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
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necessitationnoun
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prenecessitateverb (used with object)
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necessitativeadjective
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unnecessitatedadjective
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unnecessitatingadjective
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.
See Examples For:
Year: 2015 Compiled by: Dana Stevens Of note: Written in commemoration of the show’s finale, although the Phineas and Ferb movies that have been released since then may necessitate a reassessment.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
Ordinarily, adaptations of classic novels—or movies—not only necessitate updates and alterations: They tell us why we’re here—why remake an oft-told tale, if there’s nothing new to say?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
A feedback loop can be created where rising prices necessitate more buying to hedge options positions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
And with a new 10-year strategy due to be announced this summer, there will be interest in whether missing a second major tournament will necessitate at least some scaling back of ambition.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
Joe threw his eye over them, and pronounced that the job would necessitate the lighting of his forge fire, and would take nearer two hours than one.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Beard's passing "necessitates the cancellation" of the band's tour dates this week in Utah and Colorado, the statement said.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
When it comes to artificial intelligence, Hartnett has been a longstanding advocate of shorting AI bonds simply owing to the huge weight of issuance that capex of well north of $1 trillion necessitates.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Those art forms cost more to produce and can’t be widely distributed like films can, which necessitates higher price points.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
The fabric must be able to stretch in all directions, which necessitates a four-way stretch fabric.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Not just because it’s dark and wet and full of spiders and who knows what else, and not just because it’s always scary weather that necessitates entering its depths.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Her surgery was necessitated after she had an ultrasound while filming the final scene of the documentary, and a problem in her gallbladder was found.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
His extended absence from filmmaking was necessitated by Adrian’s death in 2016 and the monumental torrent of confusion and emotional displacement that followed.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
That could further reward companies already monetizing the historic capital expenditures necessitated by the AI build-out and punish those still burning cash on promises, according to market analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026
The U.S. did win a knockout round game in the tournament for just the second time, but that came in a round of 32 necessitated by the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The cloud necessitated the hasty evacuation of nearby Marshall Islands residents to Kwajalein Island, four hundred miles distant, where they were treated for radiation sickness.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
But suggested changes to the program often include increases in the retirement age, again necessitating longer, not shorter, careers to maintain one’s benefits.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The building's systems detected an "air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance," said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Electrification and green energy are increasing power demand, necessitating grid investments.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
The initial restart was ahead of schedule, but months of inactivity allowed water to accumulate in parts of the mine, wetting the ore and necessitating new loading equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
It was also notoriously brittle, necessitating the almost continual repair of the school’s fleet of shells.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
