unnecessary
Americanadjective
noun
-
unnecessaries
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of unnecessary
Explanation
Anything that is extra or not needed is unnecessary. Wearing long underwear in July is an unnecessary precaution against being cold. If you don't need something, it's unnecessary. You take an unnecessary risk if you get in the car and don't bother to fasten your seatbelt. Driving your car when you could ride a bike instead is an unnecessary use of gasoline. If you keep dropping you pen in class, your teacher might say, "That's unnecessary." Walking your dog with two leashes is definitely unnecessary. That's obvious, but lots of times it's hard to tell what's necessary and what's unnecessary.
Vocabulary lists containing unnecessary
List 3
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List 9
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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:
Felizzatto wrote that “the unnecessary housing of animals in cruelty/neglect cases contributes to the overcrowding of our animal shelters” and leads to animals going “kennel crazy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
The company has identified nearly 400 “musecases” ranging from auditing unnecessary subscriptions to negotiating parking tickets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
Some medical professionals have criticized preventive MRIs as unnecessary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
For example, some women who had undergone unnecessary mastectomies could be offered breast reconstruction surgery as they previously should have been, Russell said.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
When we finally finished our meal and stood up to leave, the diners around us rose to their feet and applauded, which struck me as both kind and unnecessary.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
There are some great songs on it, but they're smothered in unnecessaries that made it really cloudy.
From The Guardian ● May 23, 2013
She has the air of somebody who has reached a point in her life where she is dispensing with the unnecessaries.
From Time Magazine Archive
I say, pater, do come up while I toss a few unnecessaries into my case.—That's right, Brown; put my bag in my room.
From The Parts Men Play by Arthur Beverley Baxter
On Thursday, August 5th, the Regiment sorrowfully packed up all unnecessaries and piled them in the regimental dump.
From The Tale of a Trooper by Clutha N. (Clutha Nantes) Mackenzie
Boroskie, thou art a Knave; it contains nothing But rubbish from the other rooms and unnecessaries: Will't please you see a strange Clock?
From Beaumont & Fletcher's Works (3 of 10): The Loyal Subject by Francis Beaumont
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.
