necessarily

adverb

nec·​es·​sar·​i·​ly ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē 

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

Synonyms of necessarily

• inevitably

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

That means the customer can choose how to pay without necessarily changing how the business prices the sale or receives the money. — Karen Koehler, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026

None of those numbers, by itself, necessarily establishes what the overall investment is worth. — Malana Vantyler, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026

That does not mean an onside kick was necessarily the better choice. — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 19 Sep. 2026

When governance groups discover issues through subsequent assessments or audits, the assessment will necessarily be retrospective. — Ramachander Rao Thallada, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing necessarily

• not necessarily

Rhymes for necessarily

• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• momentarily
• ordinarily
• secondarily
• temporarily
• voluntarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily