Adjacent Words

Necessary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NECESSARY, a.
1. That must be; that cannot be otherwise; indispensably requisite. It is necessary that every effect should have a cause.
2. Indispensable; requisite; essential; that cannot be otherwise without preventing the purpose intended. Air is necessary to support animal life; food is necessary to nourish the body; holiness is a necessary qualification for happiness; health is necessary to the enjoyment of pleasure; subjection to law is necessary to the safety of persons and property.
3. Unavoidable; as a necessary inference or consequence from facts or arguments.
4. Acting from necessity or compulsion; opposed to free. Whether man is a necessary or a free agent is a question much discussed.
NECESSARY, n. A privy.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: absolutely essential [ant: unnecessary, unneeded]
2: unavoidably determined by prior circumstances; "the necessary consequences of one's actions" n
1: anything indispensable; "food and shelter are necessities of life"; "the essentials of the good life"; "allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions"; "a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained" [syn: necessity, essential, requirement, requisite, necessary] [ant: inessential, nonessential]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English necessarie, from Latin necessarius, from necesse necessary, probably from ne- not + cedere to withdraw — more at no Date: 14th century 1. a. of an inevitable nature ; inescapable b. (1) logically unavoidable (2) that cannot be denied without contradiction c. determined or produced by the previous condition of things d. compulsory 2. absolutely needed ; required II. noun (plural -saries) Date: 14th century an indispensable item ; essential

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 requiring to be done, achieved, etc.; requisite, essential (it is necessary to work; lacks the necessary documents). 2 determined, existing, or happening by natural laws, predestination, etc., not by free will; inevitable (a necessary evil). 3 Philos. (of a concept or a mental process) inevitably resulting from or produced by the nature of things etc., so that the contrary is impossible. 4 Philos. (of an agent) having no independent volition. --n. (pl. -ies) (usu. in pl.) any of the basic requirements of life, such as food, warmth, etc. Phrases and idioms: the necessary colloq. 1 money. 2 an action, item, etc., needed for a purpose (they will do the necessary). Etymology: ME f. OF necessaire f. L necessarius f. necesse needful

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Necessary Nec"es*sa*ry, n.; pl. Necessaries. 1. A thing that is necessary or indispensable to some purpose; something that one can not do without; a requisite; an essential; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the necessaries of life. 2. A privy; a water-closet. 3. pl. (Law) Such things, in respect to infants, lunatics, and married women, as are requisite for support suitable to station.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Necessary Nec"es*sa*ry, a. [L. necessarius, from necesse unavoidable, necessary; of uncertain origin: cf. F. n['e]cessaire.] 1. Such as must be; impossible to be otherwise; not to be avoided; inevitable. Death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come. --Shak. 2. Impossible to be otherwise, or to be dispensed with, without preventing the attainment of a desired result; indispensable; requiste; essential. ``'T is necessary he should die.'' --Shak. A certain kind of temper is necessary to the pleasure and quiet of our minds. --Tillotson. 3. Acting from necessity or compulsion; involuntary; -- opposed to free; as, whether man is a necessary or a free agent is a question much discussed.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Something that is necessary is needed in order for something else to happen. I kept the engine running because it might be necessary to leave fast... We will do whatever is necessary to stop them... Is that really necessary?... Make the necessary arrangements. ? unnecessary ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf 2. A necessary consequence or connection must happen or exist, because of the nature of the things or events involved. Wastage was no doubt a necessary consequence of war... Scientific work is differentiated from art by its necessary connection with the idea of progress. ADJ: ADJ n 3. If you say that something will happen if necessary, when necessary, or where necessary, you mean that it will happen if it is necessary, when it is necessary, or where it is necessary. If necessary, the airship can stay up there for days to keep out of danger... The army needs men who are willing to fight, when necessary... All the rigging had been examined, and renewed where necessary. PHRASE: PHR with cl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Inevitable, unavoidable, that must be. 2. Requisite, essential, indispensable, needful, that cannot be spared. 3. Involuntary. II. n. 1. Requisite, requirement, necessity, essential, indispensable thing, sine qua non. 2. Privy, jakes, water-closet, back-house.

Moby Thesaurus

absolute, apodictic, backhouse, binding, bound, called for, cardinal, certain, choiceless, clear, clear and distinct, clear as day, closet, compelling, compulsory, conclusive, constraining, crapper, de rigueur, decisive, definite, determinate, dictated, essential, exigent, fated, fateful, fundamental, imperative, imperious, important, importunate, indefeasible, indicated, indispensable, ineluctable, ineludible, inerrable, inerrant, inescapable, inevasible, inevitable, inexorable, infallible, inflexible, involuntary, irreducible, irreductible, irreplaceable, irresistible, irrevocable, jakes, mandatory, momentous, must, necessitous, needed, needful, obligatory, office, outhouse, peremptory, perfectly sure, positive, predestined, predetermined, prerequisite, relentless, required, requisite, resistless, significant, sure, sure as death, sure as fate, sure-enough, true, unambiguous, unavoidable, uncontrollable, undeflectable, unequivocal, unerring, unevadable, unforgoable, univocal, unmistakable, unpreventable, unstoppable, unyielding, urgent, vital, wanted, without choice