Definitions for Necessity
nəˈsɛs ɪ tine·ces·si·ty

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 2 votes

1. necessitynoun

   the condition of being essential or indispensable

2. necessity, essential, requirement, requisite, necessarynoun

   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"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. necessitynoun

   The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite.

   I bought a new table out of necessity. My old one was ruined.

2. necessitynoun

   The condition of being needy or necessitous; pressing need; indigence; want.

3. necessitynoun

   That which is necessary; a requisite; something indispensable.

4. necessitynoun

   That which makes an act or an event unavoidable; irresistible force; overruling power; compulsion, physical or moral; fate; fatality.

5. necessitynoun

   The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism.

6. Etymology: From necessite, from necessite, from necessitas, from necesse; see necessary.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Necessitynoun

   Etymology: necessitas, Latin.

   1. Cogency; compulsion; fatality.

   Necessity and chance
   Approach not me; and what I will is fate. John Milton.

   2. State of being necessary; indispensableness.

   Urge the necessity, and state of times. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

   Racine used the chorus in his Esther, but not that he found any necessity of it: it was only to give the ladies an occasion of entertaining the king with vocal musick. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.

   We see the necessity of an augmentation, to bring the enemy to reason. Addison.

   3. Want; need; poverty.

   The art of our necessities is strange,
   That can make vile things precious. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

   The cause of all the distractions in his court or army, proceeded from the extreme poverty, and necessity his majesty was in. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

   We are first to consult our own necessities, but then the necessities of our neighbours have a christian right to a part of what we have to spare. Roger L'Estrange, Fable 217.

   4. Things necessary for human life.

   These should be hours for necessities,
   Not for delights; times to repair our nature
   With comforting repose, and not for us
   To waste these times. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.

   5. Cogency of argument; inevitable consequence.

   There never was a man of solid understanding, whose apprehensions are sober, and by a pensive inspection advised, but that he hath found by an irresistible necessity, one true God and everlasting being. Walter Raleigh, History.

   Good nature or beneficence and candour, is the product of right reason, which of necessity will give allowance to the failings of others. Dryden.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Necessitynoun

   the quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite; inevitableness; indispensableness

2. Necessitynoun

   the condition of being needy or necessitous; pressing need; indigence; want

3. Necessitynoun

   that which is necessary; a necessary; a requisite; something indispensable; -- often in the plural

4. Necessitynoun

   that which makes an act or an event unavoidable; irresistible force; overruling power; compulsion, physical or moral; fate; fatality

5. Necessitynoun

   the negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Necessity

   In U.S. criminal law, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the law. Defendants seeking to rely on this defense argue that they should not be held liable for their actions as a crime because their conduct was necessary to prevent some greater harm and when that conduct is not excused under some other more specific provision of law such as self defense. Except for a few statutory exemptions and in some medical cases there is no corresponding defense in English law. For example, a drunk driver might contend that he drove his car to get away from a kidnap. Most common law and civil law jurisdictions recognize this defense, but only under limited circumstances. Generally, the defendant must affirmatively show that the harm he sought to avoid outweighs the danger of the prohibited conduct he is charged with; he had no reasonable alternative; he ceased to engage in the prohibited conduct as soon as the danger passed; and he did not himself create the danger he sought to avoid. Thus, with the "drunk driver" example cited above, the necessity defense will not be recognized if the defendant drove further than was reasonably necessary to get away from the kidnapper, or if some other reasonable alternative was available to him. However case law suggests necessity is narrowed to medical cases.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Necessity

   ne-ses′i-ti, n. state or quality of being necessary: that which is necessary or unavoidable: compulsion: great need: poverty.—ns. Necessitā′rian; Necessitā′rianism, necessarianism.—v.t. Necess′itāte, to make necessary: to render unavoidable: to compel.—n. Necessitā′tion.—adjs. Necess′itied (Shak.), in a state of want; Necess′itous, in necessity: very poor: destitute.—adv. Necess′itously.—n. Necess′itousness.—Natural necessity, the condition of being necessary according to the laws of nature; Logical or Mathematical, according to those of human intelligence; Moral, according to those of moral law; Works of necessity, work so necessary as to be allowable on the Sabbath. [L. necessitas.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. necessity

   If a ship be compelled by necessity to change the order of the places to which she is insured, this is not deemed deviation, and the underwriters are still liable.

Matched Categories

1. • Need

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Necessity' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4829

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Necessity' in Nouns Frequency: #1806

Anagrams for Necessity »

1. cysteines

How to pronounce Necessity?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Necessity in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Necessity in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Necessity in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of Necessity in a Sentence

1. C. P. Scott:

   The newspaper is of necessity something of a monopoly, and its first duty is to shun the temptations of monopoly. Its primary office is the gathering of news. At the peril of its soul it must see that the supply is not tainted. Neither in what it gives, nor in what it does not give, nor in the mode of presentation, must the unclouded face of truth suffer wrong. Comment is free but facts are sacred.

2. Thomas Vinterberg:

   It gave a me purpose in life and kept me away from the freefall, and I felt there was a higher purpose in making a movie for her. Before her death it was an ambition to make a life-affirming film ; that became a necessity. I wanted to celebrate the life that we lose so easily.

3. Emil Waters:

   My experience is that the players and team leaders have a great understanding for the necessity of knowing about the problems related to match-fixing and other questions related to gambling, the information to the players was explained simply and based on the three headlines that FIFA have brought up. They are recognize and be alert to any approach, resist by saying no to match manipulation, and do your duty by reporting any approach.

4. Sandeep Aggarwal:

   Most entrepreneurs think that insufficient capital goes against them. You die due to indigestion, not due to hunger. Necessity is the mother of invention.

5. Central Military Commission:

   A modern country by necessity is one that is one with rule of law, and a modern military is by necessity one that has rule of law, the more modern the military is, the more informatized it is, the more it needs to follow the rule of law.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Necessity
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Necessity
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Necessity
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Necessity
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Necessity
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Necessity
7. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=Necessity