necessity

[ nuh-ses-i-tee ]

/ nəˈsɛs ɪ ti /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: necessity / necessities 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR necessity

3 demand.

6 neediness, indigence, want.

See synonyms for necessity on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about necessity

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

synonym study for necessity

3. See need.

OTHER WORDS FROM necessity

non·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.

Words nearby necessity

necessitarian, necessitarianism, necessitate, necessitous, necessitude, necessity, Necessity is the mother of invention, Nechako, Neches, Necho, neck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use necessity in a sentence

When I talked to lawyers about how to delay filing a Form D, all gave the standard perfunctory response about the necessity of filing — until we went off-the-record.
PSA: Most aggregate VC trend data is garbage|Danny Crichton|February 9, 2021|TechCrunch
The best Valentine’s Day gifts to give and receive are those given based upon both feeling and necessity.
The best, most practical Valentine’s Day gifts for any kind of partner|PopSci Commerce Team|February 8, 2021|Popular-Science
Economists see such savings as a sign the family did not need the money for basic necessities.
Here’s the new Democratic plan for $1,400 stimulus checks|Heather Long, Jeff Stein|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
We believe a far greater number of people can’t afford internet, but are sacrificing other necessities.
Getting vaccinated is hard. It’s even harder without the internet.|Eileen Guo|February 3, 2021|MIT Technology Review

Every play during a pandemic is, by necessity, experimental.
A careful return to live theater is coming down to costume design|Anne Quito|February 2, 2021|Quartz
I had to create plays out of necessity, because African women deserved a voice and a place on the stage.
Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira Vs. Boko Haram|Kristi York Wooten|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All of these changes to college financing occurred at exactly the time when college education became a necessity.
The Student Loan Crisis That Isn’t About Kids at Harvard|Monica Potts|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nazi texts proclaimed that the annihilation or expulsion of the Armenians was a “compelling necessity.”
The 20th-Century Dictator Most Idolized by Hitler|William O’Connor|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The heartbreaking death of MTV reality TV personality Diem Brown proves the emotional necessity and value of the reality TV genre.
MTV’s Diem Brown Dies: When Reality TV Starts Getting Real|Kevin Fallon|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After all, the Prince of necessity had to focus on defeating his external enemies.
Valerie Jarrett, Obama Consigliere—and Democracy Killer|James Poulos|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes necessity makes an honest man a knave: and a rich man a honest man, because he has no occasion to be a knave.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
There was a tremendous necessity for an example of the resurrection of an ordinary man.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
Ha—assure you we quite understand; no necessity to say another word about it.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
The proudest man in Christendom has found no friend in his extremest necessity, but you his bitterest enemy!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Quiet and good natured, when necessity arose he never failed to assert his authority.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow

British Dictionary definitions for necessity

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with necessity

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

OTHER WORDS FOR necessity

Idioms about necessity

Origin of necessity

synonym study for necessity

OTHER WORDS FROM necessity

Words nearby necessity

Words related to necessity

How to use necessity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for necessity

Other Idioms and Phrases with necessity