Definition of NECESSITY

necessity

Meanings

Plural: necessities

Noun

  • the condition of being essential or indispensable
  • anything indispensable
  • The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite.
  • The condition of being needy; desperate need; lack.
  • Something necessary; a requisite; something indispensable.
  • Something which makes an act or an event unavoidable; an irresistible force; overruling power.
  • The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism.
  • Greater utilitarian good; used in justification of a criminal act.
  • Indispensable requirements (of life).

Origin / 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.

Scrabble Score: 14

necessity is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
necessity is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
necessity is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

necessity is a valid Words With Friends word