necessitate

[nuh-ses-i-teyt]

verb (used with object)

necessitated, necessitating 

1. to make necessary or unavoidable.

   The breakdown of the car necessitated a change in our plans.

2. to compel, oblige, or force.

   The new wage demand will necessitate a price increase.

necessitate

/ nɪˈsɛsɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. to cause as an unavoidable and necessary result

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

Other Word Forms

• necessitation noun
• necessitative adjective
• prenecessitate verb (used with object)
• unnecessitated adjective
• unnecessitating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of necessitate¹

1620–30; < Medieval Latin necessitātus, past participle of necessitāre to compel, constrain. See necessity, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

But finding yourself in a bind necessitates clever solutions, and Park’s already dark comedy turns jet-black as the director reveals that stress can beget new talents.

From Salon

Department of the Interior this week requesting “expedited support” for its floating vessel plan, Sable said the new state law is “creating barriers which necessitate our need for an alternative offshore solution.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I told him in very plain language there is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state,” Kotek said.

From Salon

Democrats will need to find a new route to 270 electors by 2032, and that will necessitate flipping at least one state currently understood as red.

From Salon

“Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire’s and its stakeholders,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• constrain 
• entail 
• require