necessity
Americannoun
plural
necessities-
something necessary or indispensable.
food, shelter, and other necessities of life.
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the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability.
the necessity of adequate housing.
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an imperative requirement or need for something.
the necessity for a quick decision.
- Synonyms:
- demand
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the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable.
to face the necessity of testifying in court.
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an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something.
not by choice but by necessity.
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a state of being in financial need; poverty.
a family in dire necessity.
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Philosophy. the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws.
idioms
noun
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(sometimes plural) something needed for a desired result; prerequisite
necessities of life
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a condition or set of circumstances, such as physical laws or social rules, that inevitably requires a certain result
it is a matter of necessity to wear formal clothes when meeting the Queen
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the state or quality of being obligatory or unavoidable
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urgent requirement, as in an emergency or misfortune
in time of necessity we must all work together
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poverty or want
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rare compulsion through laws of nature; fate
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philosophy
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a condition, principle, or conclusion that cannot be otherwise
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the constraining force of physical determinants on all aspects of life Compare freedom
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logic
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the property of being necessary
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a statement asserting that some property is essential or statement is necessarily true
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the operator that indicates that the expression it modifies is true in all possible worlds
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inevitably; necessarily
Related Words
See need.
Other Word Forms
- nonnecessity noun
- supernecessity noun
Etymology
Origin of necessity
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English necessite, from Latin necessitās, from necess(e) “needful” + -itās -ity
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.
For Paramount, sealing the deal, even at such a high price, may have been less of a choice than a necessity if it wants to survive in a rapidly changing media landscape.
From MarketWatch
Discovery is seen as a necessity to create a stronger streaming competitor.
From Barron's
This may soon become a political and business necessity.
“In these economic times, diversified income becomes a need and necessity,” said Turner.
Affording the basic necessities of life is becoming an increasing struggle for many Iranians because of high inflation.
From BBC
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.
