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necessity

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necessity

  • /nɪˈsɛsəti/

Where it comes from

From Middle English necessite, from Old French necessite, from Latin necessitās (“unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity”), from necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”); see necessary. Doublet of Necessitas.

noun necessities

  1. countable, uncountable The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite. I bought a new table out of necessity. My old one was ruined.

    Similar: necessariness, inevitability, needfulness, certainty

  2. countable, uncountable The condition of being needy; desperate need; lack. For it is in vain for a man to think to seek God in his necessity and exigence, if he seek not God in his ordinances, and do not joy in them.
  3. countable, uncountable Something necessary; a requisite; something indispensable. A tent is a necessity if you plan on camping.

    Similar: requisite

  4. countable, uncountable Something which makes an act or an event unavoidable; an irresistible force; overruling power. After eating a full meal, the human body's necessity for food will compel the person to eat again in the future.
  5. countable, uncountable The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism.
  6. countable, uncountable Greater utilitarian good; used in justification of a criminal act. doctrine of necessity
  7. countable, in plural, uncountable Indispensable requirements (of life).

Opposite: impossibility, contingency, luxury

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: requisite, necessary, essential, requirement, needs, needed, indispensability, need, prerequisite, required, neediness, must, precondition, fact, imperative, demand

noun

Opposite: impossibility, contingency, luxury

Translations

Every language

noun quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite

Españolnecesidad, menester
한국어필요성 piryoseong, 필요 piryo, 요구 yogu
日本語必要性 hitsuyōsei, 必然性 hitsuzensei, 必要 hitsuyō, 要求 yōkyū, ニーズ nīzu
中文必要性 bìyàoxìng, 必要 bìyào, 要求 yāoqiú, 需求 xūqiú
हिन्दीअनिवार्यता anivāryatā, ज़रूरत zarūrat, आवश्यकता āvaśyaktā
Kiswahilihaja
Portuguêsnecessidade
Françaisnécessité, besoin
DeutschNotwendigkeit, Nezessität, Not, Bedürfnis, Bedarf
Italianonecessità, bisogno
Ελληνικάανάγκη anágki, αναγκαιότητα anagkaiótita
Românănecesitate
Русскийнеобходи́мость neobxodímostʹ, нужда́ nuždá, потре́бность potrébnostʹ, на́добность nádobnostʹ
Tiếng Việtsự cần thiết, nhu cầu
العربيةضَرُورَة ḍarūra, حَاجَة ḥāja
עבריתצורך \ צֹרֶךְ tsórekh

noun condition of being needy or necessitous

DeutschBedürftigkeit
Русскийнужда́ nuždá

noun that which is necessary

한국어필수품 pilsupum
日本語必需品 hitsujuhin
中文必需品 bìxūpǐn
Portuguêsnecessidade
DeutschNotwendigkeit
Românănecesitate
Русскийпредме́т пе́рвой необходи́мости predmét pérvoj neobxodímosti

noun that which makes an act or an event unavoidable

Portuguêsnecessidade

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Cite this
MLA

"necessity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/necessity. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

necessity. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/necessity

Chicago

"necessity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/necessity.

BibTeX
@misc{necessity_2026,
  title = {necessity},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/necessity},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}