necessity

[ nuh-ses-i-tee ]

/ nəˈsɛs ɪ ti /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR necessity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ne·ces·si·ties.

something necessary or indispensable: food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability: the necessity of adequate housing.

an imperative requirement or need for something: the necessity for a quick decision.

the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable: to face the necessity of testifying in court.

an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something: not by choice but by necessity.

a state of being in financial need; poverty: a family in dire necessity.

Philosophy. the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws.

Nearby words

necessitarianism, necessitate, necessitation, necessitous, necessitude, necessity, necessity is the mother of invention, nechako, neches, necho, neck

Idioms

of necessity, as an inevitable result; unavoidably; necessarily: Our trip to China must of necessity be postponed for a while.

Origin of necessity

1325–75; Middle English necessite < Latin necessitās, equivalent to necess(e) needful + -itās -ity

SYNONYMS FOR necessity

3 demand.

6 neediness, indigence, want.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR necessity ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsnon·ne·ces·si·ty, noun, plural non·ne·ces·si·ties.su·per·ne·ces·si·ty, noun, plural su·per·ne·ces·si·ties.

Synonym study

3. See need.

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

Examples from the Web for necessities

“It was this idea of prayer, and one of the necessities of the prayer pose being the blindfold,” he explained.
‘True Detective’s’ Godless Universe: Is the HBO Show Anti-Christian?|Andrew Romano|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“The government is stuck between [strategic] necessities and its social/political aims,” he said.
Erdogan’s Foreign Policy Reset|Thomas Seibert|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the margins, that means more people are able to pay for the necessities of life with their incomes.
The Phony Food-Stamp Scare|Daniel Gross|July 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I worry about the ability of the Zionist left to recognize these necessities and adapt to them.
Whither The Israeli Left?|Brent E. Sasley|January 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As necessities grow scarce, the suffering will spread, from the poor to the middle class, and perhaps higher.
Iran and the Sanctions Trap|Stephen L. Carter|July 31, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It was used not for necessities, but to maintain a foolish display.
'Charge It'|Irving Bacheller
In what labours do not the necessities of rank and station involve a man who by disposition requires only ease and quiet!
Lysbeth|H. Rider Haggard
By His grace, I rejoice in necessities, and in everything give thanks.
The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield, Volume I (of 2)|Luke Tyerman
She kept it up until the scouts knew that every bottle and box in their duffel-bags must be powdered into other necessities.
Girl Scouts in the Rockies|Lillian Elizabeth Roy
Rest happy about Poppy; her money has been returned to her, and Jasmine has sufficient for her present necessities.
The Palace Beautiful|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for necessities

necessity

/ (nɪˈsɛsɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

(sometimes plural) something needed for a desired result; prerequisitenecessities of life

a condition or set of circumstances, such as physical laws or social rules, that inevitably requires a certain resultit is a matter of necessity to wear formal clothes when meeting the Queen

the state or quality of being obligatory or unavoidable

urgent requirement, as in an emergency or misfortunein time of necessity we must all work together

poverty or want

rare compulsion through laws of nature; fate

philosophy

a condition, principle, or conclusion that cannot be otherwise
the constraining force of physical determinants on all aspects of lifeCompare freedom (def. 8)

logic

the property of being necessary
a statement asserting that some property is essential or statement is necessarily true
the operator that indicates that the expression it modifies is true in all possible worldsUsual symbol: □, ∟

of necessity inevitably; necessarily

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 necessities

necessity

late 14c., "constraining power of circumstances," from Old French necessité "need, necessity; privation, poverty; distress, torment; obligation, duty" (12c.), from Latin necessitatem (nominative necessitas) "compulsion, need for attention, unavoidableness, destiny," from necesse (see necessary). Meaning "condition of being in need" in English is from late 15c.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention. [Richard Franck, c.1624-1708, English author and angler, "Northern Memoirs," 1658]

To maken vertu of necessite is in Chaucer. Related: Necessities.

Idioms and Phrases with necessities

necessity

In addition to the idiom beginning with necessity

necessity is the mother of invention

also see:

make a virtue of necessity
of necessity

necessity

noun, plural ne·ces·si·ties.

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of necessity

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for necessities

British Dictionary definitions for necessities

necessity

noun plural -ties

Word Origin and History for necessities

necessity

Idioms and Phrases with necessities

necessity