necessary

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈnɛs.əˌsɛ.ɹi/ UK /ˈnɛs.ə.sɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #1387

Meanings

1

adj
Needed in order to do or achieve something.

It is necessary to book your tickets in advance.
2

adj
Certain to happen as a result of something; unavoidable.

Job losses were a necessary consequence of the cuts.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · needed in order to do or... essential needed required indispensable

2 adj · certain to happen as a... inevitable

Word family

Forms necessaries

Derived forms equinecessaryinnecessarynecessariannecessarilynonnecessaryseminecessary

Related forms necessariness necessitate necessitation necessitousness necessitude necessity

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

absolutely necessary
essential, with no practical possibility of doing without it

Adverb + adjective

Etymology

From Middle English necessarye, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable, inevitable, required”), variant of necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”), probably from ne or non cessum, from the perfect passive participle of cēdō (“yield; avoid, withdraw”); see cede. Older use as a noun in reference to an outhouse or lavatory under the influence of English and Latin necessārium, a medieval term for the place for monks’ “unavoidable” business, usually located behind or attached to monastic dormitories.

necessarye Middle English necessaire Old French necessārius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# necessary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈnɛs.əˌsɛ.ɹi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈnɛs.ə.sɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 1387

## Meanings
1. Needed in order to do or achieve something.
2. Certain to happen as a result of something; unavoidable.

## Examples
- It is necessary to book your tickets in advance.
- Job losses were a necessary consequence of the cuts.

## Derived Forms
- equinecessary
- innecessary
- necessarian
- necessarily
- nonnecessary
- seminecessary

## Related Forms
- necessariness
- necessitate
- necessitation
- necessitousness
- necessitude
- necessity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: necessarye
- Root: necessaire
- Root: necessārius

## Etymology
From Middle English necessarye, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable, inevitable, required”), variant of necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”), probably from ne or non cessum, from the perfect passive participle of cēdō (“yield; avoid, withdraw”); see cede. Older use as a noun in reference to an outhouse or lavatory under the influence of English and Latin necessārium, a medieval term for the place for monks’ “unavoidable” business, usually located behind or attached to monastic dormitories.

## AI Etymology
Necessary comes from Middle English necessarye, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable, inevitable, required”), variant of necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”), probably from ne or non cessum, from the perfect passive participle of cēdō (“yield; avoid, withdraw”); see cede. Older use as a noun in reference to an outhouse or lavatory under the influence of English and Latin necessārium, a medieval term for the place for monks’ “unavoidable” business, usually located behind or attached to monastic dormitories. Modern senses include needed in order to do or achieve something and certain to happen as a result of something; unavoidable. The wider word family includes derivatives such as equinecessary, innecessary, necessarian, necessarily, nonnecessary, and seminecessary and related forms such as necessariness, necessitate, necessitation, and necessitousness.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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