by necessity

idiom

: because of conditions that cannot be changed
The process is by necessity a slow one.

Examples of by necessity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Living on the water is an old form of ingenuity, one that has often been driven by necessity. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024 Part of that has to do with the challenge of introducing not just Cassie but the youthful trio in her care, whose personalities and interactions almost by necessity must be shoehorned into narrow Disney Channel-style cliches. Brian Lowry, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024 Here, audiences will meet Izi—played by Kane Robinson—who is living here by necessity and desperately trying to find a way out, and a 12-year-old Benji, who has lost his mother and is searching for a family. Okla Jones, Essence, 19 Jan. 2024 Many were motivated by fear, some by necessity, others by the lure of consumer goods that miners offered, including liquor, shotguns, and new iPhones. Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024 Small businesses—by necessity—rarely run with excess overhead and are naturally more efficient than large enterprises, even when economic conditions are positive. Eyal Lifshitz, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024 Obviously, the sound of my arrangements does depart from the originals in certain ways, by necessity. Jasper Davidoff, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024 Other staff from that period acknowledged that the process, by necessity, takes time to ensure the proper descendants receive the remains. Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Feb. 2024 Saturdays in grad school were, by necessity, prime R&R time—doubly so in winter, when temperatures frequently swing deeply negative and folks are understandably reluctant to leave the warm safety of their homes. Benjamin Dubow, Longreads, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'by necessity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near by necessity

Cite this Entry

“By necessity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20necessity. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

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