Word family noun necessity the necessaries the necessary adjective necessary ≠ unnecessary verb necessitate adverb necessarily ≠ unnecessarily
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnecessityne‧ces‧si‧ty /nəˈsesəti/ ●●○ noun (plural necessities) 1 NEED[countable] something that you need to have in order to live OPP luxury She saw books as a necessity, not a luxury. A car is an absolute necessity if you live in the country.the basic/bare necessities A lot of families cannot even afford to buy the basic necessities of life.2 NEED[uncountable] when something is necessarynecessity for He emphasized the necessity for good planning and management.the necessity of (doing) something This illustrates the necessity of keeping accurate records of your work. Many teachers are now questioning the necessity of formal exams.through/out of necessity He only remained with the group out of necessity.economic/practical/political etc necessity I’m afraid it’s become a matter of economic necessity.3 MUST[countable] something that must happen, even if it is unpleasant Taxes are a regrettable necessity.4 → of necessity5 → necessity is the mother of inventionExamples from the Corpus
necessity• I would say that TV has become more a necessity than a luxury, wouldn't you?• A car is an absolute necessity in this town.• For several years, the family was forced to make do with just the bare necessities.• Even basic necessities such as pencils and paper were lacking in the school.• Ultimately a growing population of families unable to meet the basic necessities of life invites uncontainable crime and disease.• The decision to sell the car was fueled by necessity.• In the longer term, that particular barrier is likely to disappear through sheer economic necessity on the part of business.• Economic necessity or opportunity often forces them to make decisions that favor a particular constituency over its counterparts.• Protests were countered by claims of the objective necessity of maintaining financial security.• It will itself exist of necessity, and it will necessarily contain all possibilities in itself.• Of necessity two different ways of measuring the same thing must come to the same conclusion.• The court held that necessity was a defence to the claim in trespass and nuisance.• A list made beforehand and ticked off should obviate the necessity for this though.absolute necessity• Supplies of liquid helium are an absolute necessity in many modern science laboratories.• Artificial light is an absolute necessity for the developments of plants.• Careful searching of the literature is an absolute necessity in the preparation of any study and solution to problems.• This is an absolute necessity and to work in defiance of it means total failure.• There are two infestations that are commonly transmitted in this way although there is no absolute necessity for this mode of transmission.• Design, development and management have in common the absolute necessity of taking action based on incomplete information.• White gloves and a pillbox hat were absolute necessities.necessity for• There is no real necessity for more parking.Origin necessity (1300-1400) French necessité, from Latin necessitas, from necesse; → NECESSARY 