necessity
noun/nɪˈsɛsəti/
Etymology From Middle English necessite, from Old French necessite, from Latin necessitās (“unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity”), from necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”); see necessary. Doublet of Necessitas.
7 senses
- 1The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or…
- 2The condition of being needy; desperate need; lack.
- 3Something necessary; a requisite; something indispensable.
- 4Something which makes an act or an event unavoidable; an…
- 5The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the…
- 6Greater utilitarian good; used in justification of a…
- 7Indispensable requirements (of life).
The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite.
- I bought a new table out of necessity. My old one was ruined.
- Educating the public about some of the myths that underlie their fears that non-traditional families will of necessity be detrimental to the well-being of foster children.1985 December 7, Kim Westheimer, quoting Carol Brill, “Toy Dolls, Fake Dukakis 'Hear' Foster Testimony”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 21, page 1:
1 more example
- Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming, […]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul.2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
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.1863, Richard Sibbes, “The Successful Seeker”, in The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, D.D., Volume VI, James Nichol, page 125:
Something necessary; a requisite; something indispensable.
- A tent is a necessity if you plan on camping.
- Look for the bare necessities / The simple bare necessities / Forget about your worries and your strife1967, Terry Gilkyson, “The Bare Necessities”, in The Jungle Book:
1 more example
- Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.20th century, Tenzin Gyatso (attributed)
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.
- I stopped, and said with inly muttered voice, 'It doth not love the shower, nor seek the cold: This neither is its courage nor its choice, But its necessity in being old.1804, The Small Celandine, Wordsworth:
The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism.
Law Greater utilitarian good; used in justification of a criminal act.
- doctrine of necessity
Law In plural Indispensable requirements (of life).
- Synonyms
- necessariness, inevitability, needfulness, certainty, requisite
- Antonyms
- impossibility, contingency, luxury
- Derived terms
- bare necessities, daily necessities, doctrine of necessity, doctrine of philosophical necessity, make a virtue of necessity, money of necessity, necessitarian, necessitied, necessitous, necessity is the mother of innovation, necessity is the mother of invention, necessity knows no law, necessity money, needcessity, nonnecessity, unnecessity, work of necessity
- Related terms
- necessariness, necessary, necessitate, necessitation, necessitative, necessitousness, necessitude