necessarily

adverb

nec·​es·​sar·​i·​ly ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē How to pronounce necessarily (audio)
1
: of necessity : unavoidably
The audience was necessarily small.
This endeavor necessarily involves some risk.
2
: as a logical result or consequence
… a holocaust is a disaster, but a disaster is not necessarily a holocaust.Harry Shaw

Examples of necessarily in a Sentence

the argument that the existence of the universe necessarily implies the existence of an all-powerful being responsible for creating it
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The results don’t suggest that either form of storytelling—conceptual or perceptual—is necessarily easier to remember than the other; participants in the new study recalled the stories told in these two ways roughly equally. Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2025 Desai, who wasn't involved in this study, doesn't think the sport is necessarily getting more dangerous. Arundathi Nair, NPR, 19 Oct. 2025 The movie isn’t terrible, necessarily. Tim Grierson, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025 Raises aren’t even necessarily off the table at organizations that are downsizing, according to some experts. Cathy Bussewitz, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for necessarily

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of necessarily was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Necessarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/necessarily. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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