as in must
something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable
an extensive grounding in mathematics is a sine qua non for a career in architecture
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Recent Examples of sine qua non
At that point, sunglasses lose their sine qua non purpose to protect our eyes, becoming a purely ornamental element capable of elevating an entire outfit.
—
Teresa Romero Martínez, Glamour, 22 Mar. 2025
The sine qua non for an economic deal is that Ukrainian leadership wants a peace deal.
—CBS News, 2 Mar. 2025
For those in Mnangagwa’s Lacoste faction, direct experience in the liberation war is a sine qua non for any successor candidate.
—Philip Martin, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2017
Both machines must be designed for ridiculously demanding environments—the sine qua non is ultrafast and ultra-accurate logging and triage of billions of events per second in a typhoon of radiation under magnetic fields otherwise found only in MRI machines.
—Douglas McCormick, IEEE Spectrum, 18 Sep. 2012
See All Example Sentences for sine qua non
Teresa Romero Martínez, Glamour, 22 Mar. 2025
The sine qua non for an economic deal is that Ukrainian leadership wants a peace deal.
—CBS News, 2 Mar. 2025
For those in Mnangagwa’s Lacoste faction, direct experience in the liberation war is a sine qua non for any successor candidate.
—Philip Martin, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2017
Both machines must be designed for ridiculously demanding environments—the sine qua non is ultrafast and ultra-accurate logging and triage of billions of events per second in a typhoon of radiation under magnetic fields otherwise found only in MRI machines.
—Douglas McCormick, IEEE Spectrum, 18 Sep. 2012
See All Example Sentences for sine qua non
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sine qua non
Noun
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Rib-sticking beef and pork dishes are the stars of the menu; ropa vieja, a Cuban stew made with shredded beef braised in tomato sauce and pepper sofrito, is a must-order for carnivores and omnivores.—
Taylor Tobin,
Southern Living,
18 Feb. 2026
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The spa The spa is a must-visit while at Mohonk.—
Katie Mathews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Afterwards, ByteDance rolled back that feature and introduced verification requirements for users who want to create digital avatars with their own images and audio, according to Chinese media.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Not all nurses are certified to be a SANE, and certification requirements vary by state, according to Sekula.—
Senior Television,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That's according to a new WalletHub survey, which found that people living in some of the poorest states in the country spend the most on basic food necessities.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
-
But for Arista, much of the diversification in its deployments is coming out of necessity.—
Kristina Partsinevelos,Ari Levy,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sine qua non.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sine%20qua%20non. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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