ne·ces·si·ty

(nə-sĕs′ĭ-tē)

n. pl. ne·ces·si·ties

a. The condition or quality of being necessary.

b. Something necessary: The necessities of life include food, clothing, and shelter.

a. Something dictated by invariable physical laws.

b. The force exerted by circumstance.

3. The state or fact of being in need.

4. Pressing or urgent need, especially that arising from poverty.

Idiom:

of necessity

As an inevitable consequence; necessarily.

[Middle English necessite, from Old French, from Latin necessitās, from necesse, necessary; see necessary.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

necessity

(nɪˈsɛsɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. (sometimes plural) something needed for a desired result; prerequisite: necessities of life.

2. 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.

3. the state or quality of being obligatory or unavoidable

4. urgent requirement, as in an emergency or misfortune: in time of necessity we must all work together.

5. poverty or want

6. rare compulsion through laws of nature; fate

7. (Philosophy) philosophy

a. a condition, principle, or conclusion that cannot be otherwise

b. the constraining force of physical determinants on all aspects of life. Compare freedom⁸

8. (Logic) logic

a. the property of being necessary

b. a statement asserting that some property is essential or statement is necessarily true

c. the operator that indicates that the expression it modifies is true in all possible worlds. Usual symbol: ☐ or ∟

9. of necessity inevitably; necessarily

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ne•ces•si•ty

(nəˈsɛs ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. something necessary or indispensable: food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

2. the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability: the necessity of adequate housing.

3. an imperative requirement or need for something: a necessity for a quick decision.

4. the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable: to face the necessity of testifying in court.

5. an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something: not by choice but by necessity.

6. a state of being in financial need; poverty: a family in dire necessity.

7. Philos. the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws.

Idioms:

of necessity, inevitably; unavoidably; necessarily.

[1325–75; Middle English necessite < Latin necessitās=necess(e) needful + -itās -ity]

Necessity

See Also: IMPORTANCE/UNIMPORTANCE

Crucial as the last game of the World Series —Anon
Essential as marrow —Curtis White
I need it like I need a hole in the head —Anon
A Yiddish simile, typical of the colorful irony that has caused so many Jewish immigrant expressions to become integrated into American English.
Necessary and invisible like drafts of oxygen —Thomas Lux
Necessary as water to a healthy lawn —Anon
Necessary as a gardener to his garden —John Ray’s Proverbs
Necessary as an anesthesiologist to an operation —Mary Morris
Necessary as applause to an actor —Anon
Necessary as a saw to a carpenter —Anon
Necessary as bytes to a computer —Anon
Necessary as Christmas to retailers —Anon
Necessary as eggs in an omelette —Anon
Necessary as gas to a car —Anon
Necessary as good lines to a play —Anon
Necessary as markings on a scale or a thermometer —Anon
Necessary as a paycheck to a worker —Anon
Necessary as practice to a musician —Anon
Necessary as quartz for a digital watch —Anon
Necessary as snow to a ski weekend —Anon
Necessary as sturdy shoes to a runner —Anon
Necessary as sunshine to a garden —Anon
Necessary as wages —John Braine
Necessary as workouts to an athlete —Anon
Necessary as work to a workaholic —Anon
(Men are as) necessary to her survival as water —Patricia Henley
Need as a dog needs a pocket handkerchief —Anon
“Need as” similes with opposite meanings lend themselves to endless variations.
See Also: USELESSNESS
Needed a ten minute head start like Sinatra needed singing lessons —John Lutz
Need … like a fish needs a bicycle —Robert B. Parker
Needs as a dog needs two tails —American colloquialism, attributed to New England
The exact wording of this, as with anything handed down through common usage varies with each user; for example, a popular variation of the same theme is “He don’t need it any more than a dog needs two tails.”
Need … to simplify, almost like some painfully obese gourmet craving a stay at a health farm —John Fowles
Something she needs like a new navel —Richard Ford
As superfluous as a Gideon’s Bible at the Ritz —F. Scott Fitzgerald
Superfluous as to light as a candle to the sun —Robert South
Unnecessary like rubbish —Henia Karmel-Wolfe

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	necessity - the condition of being essential or indispensable need, demand - a condition requiring relief; "she satisfied his need for affection"; "God has no need of men to accomplish His work"; "there is a demand for jobs" requisiteness - the state of being absolutely required urgency - the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity
	2.	necessity - 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" essential, necessary, requisite, requirement thing - a separate and self-contained entity desideratum - something desired as a necessity; "the desiderata for a vacation are time and money" must - a necessary or essential thing; "seat belts are an absolute must" need, want - anything that is necessary but lacking; "he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs"; "I tried to supply his wants"

necessity

noun

1. need, demand, requirement, exigency, indispensability, needfulness There is agreement on the necessity of reforms.

2. essential, need, necessary, requirement, fundamental, requisite, prerequisite, sine qua non (Latin), desideratum, want Water is a basic necessity of life.

3. inevitability, certainty, inexorability, ineluctability, shoo-in (U.S. & Canad.) the ultimate necessity of death

4. poverty, need, privation, penury, destitution, extremity, indigence They were reduced to begging through economic necessity.

plural noun

1. essentials, needs, requirements, fundamentals They sometimes had to struggle to pay for necessities.

of necessity necessarily, inevitably, unavoidably, perforce, nolens volens (Latin) The recommendations made in this handbook are, of necessity, fairly general.

Quotations
"Necessity is the mother of invention" [Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels]
"Necessity never made a good bargain" [Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard's Almanac]
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom; it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" [William Pitt speech]
"You make a virtue of necessity" [Saint Jerome Apologeticum adversus Rufinum]
"Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessities" [John Lothrop Motley]

Proverbs
"Necessity knows no law"
"Needs must when the devil drives"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

necessity

noun

1. That which provides a reason or justification:

call, cause, ground (often used in plural), justification, occasion, reason, wherefore, why.

Idiom: why and wherefore.

2. Something indispensable:

condition, essential, must, need, precondition, prerequisite, requirement, requisite, sine qua non.

3. A condition in which something necessary or desirable is required or wanted:

exigence, exigency, need.

Translations

ضَرُورَةٌضَرورَه

nutnostnezbytnost

nødvendighed

välttämättömyys

nužnost

nauîsyn

necessità bisogno necessit...

必要性

필요성

nujapotreba

nödvändighet

ความจำเป็น

gereklilik ihtiyaç zorunluluk

sự cần thiết

必要性必需品

necessity

[nɪˈsesɪtɪ] N

1. (= need) → necesidad f
I don't see the necessity of it → no veo la necesidad de eso
there is no necessity for you to do it → no es necesario que lo hagas
she works from economic necessity → trabaja por necesidad
of necessity → necesariamente, forzosamente, por fuerza
out of sheer necessity → por pura necesidad
necessity is the mother of invention → la necesidad agudiza el ingenio

2. (= necessary thing) → necesidad f
necessities such as food and clothing were in short supply → escaseaban artículos de primera necesidad tales como la comida y la ropa
the basic necessities of life → las necesidades básicas (de la vida)
see also bare A3

3. (= unavoidable thing) the curfew was seen as a regrettable necessity → el toque de queda era visto como un mal necesario

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

necessity

[nəˈsɛsɪti] n

(= need) → nécessité f
the necessity to do sth → la nécessité de faire qch
Young people must be made aware of the necessity to look after the environment → On doit rendre les jeunes conscients de la nécessité de prendre soin de l'environnement.
there is no necessity to do this → il n'y a pas lieu de faire ça
There is no necessity for us to do anything → Il n'y a pas lieu pour nous de faire quoi que ce soit.
the necessity of doing sth → la nécessité de faire qch
Freed from the necessity of earning a living, he decided to travel → Libéré de la nécessité de gagner sa vie, il décida de voyager.
to be faced with the necessity of doing sth → être placé(e) devant la nécessité de faire qch
to be a matter of necessity → être une question de nécessité
in case of necessity → en cas de nécessité
to do sth out of necessity → faire qch par nécessité
She went to work not through choice but out of necessity → Elle ne travaillait pas par choix, mais par nécessité.
of necessity (= necessarily) → par nécessité
The account given here is of necessity extremely brief → Le récit donné ici est, par nécessité, extrêmement bref.

(= necessary thing) → nécessité f
For some people a car is a necessity, not a luxury → Pour certains, la voiture est une nécessité et non un luxe.
Television is considered a necessity by some → Certains considèrent la télévision comme une nécessité.

necessity

no pl → Notwendigkeit f; from or out of necessity → aus Not; of necessity → notgedrungen, notwendigerweise; to be born of necessity → aus Notwendigkeit (heraus) geschehen; he did not realize the necessity for a quick decision → er hat nicht erkannt, wie wichtig or notwendig eine schnelle Entscheidung war; it is a case of absolute necessity → es ist unbedingt notwendig; there is no necessity for you to do that → es besteht nicht die geringste Notwendigkeit, dass Sie das tun; necessity is the mother of invention (Prov) → Not macht erfinderisch (Prov)

no pl (= poverty) → Not f, → Armut f; to live in necessity → Not leiden, in Armut leben

(= necessary thing) → Notwendigkeit f; the bare necessities (of life) → das Notwendigste (zum Leben)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

necessity

[nɪˈsɛsɪtɪ] n

a. → necessità
there is no necessity for you to do that → non è necessario che or non c'è bisogno che tu lo faccia
the necessity of doing sth → la necessità di fare qc
is there any necessity? → è proprio necessario?, c'è proprio bisogno?
of necessity → di necessità, necessariamente
from or out of necessity → per necessità or bisogno
in case of necessity → in caso di necessità

b. (necessary thing) → cosa indispensabile, necessità f inv
the bare necessities → lo stretto necessario, il minimo indispensabile

necessary

(ˈnesisəri) adjective

needed; essential. Is it necessary to sign one's name?; I shall do all that is necessary.

ˌnecesˈsarily (-ˈse-) adverb

necessitate (niˈsesiteit) verb

to make necessary. Re-building the castle would necessitate spending a lot of money.

necessity (niˈsesəti) – plural neˈcessities – noun

something needed or essential. Food is one of the necessities of life.

necessity

→ ضَرُورَةٌ nutnost nødvendighed Notwendigkeit αναγκαιότητα necesidad välttämättömyys nécessité nužnost necessità 必要性 필요성 noodzaak nødvendighet potrzeba necessidade необходимость nödvändighet ความจำเป็น gereklilik sự cần thiết 必要性

necessity

n. necesidad, obligación.