necessitate

verb

ne·​ces·​si·​tate ni-ˈse-sə-ˌtāt 

necessitated; necessitating

transitive verb

1

: to make necessary : require

Business was growing, which necessitated the hiring of additional employees.

2

: force, compel

was necessitated to choose some other route

necessitation

ni-ˌse-sə-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Synonyms of necessitate

• require
• need

Examples of necessitate in a Sentence

New safety regulations necessitated adding a railing to the stairs.

getting new shoes would necessitate another trip to the mall

Recent Examples on the Web

Based on moderate projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sea level could rise by about 10 inches by 2040, inundating a million acres of land in Florida and necessitating the relocation of more than 200,000 residents. —Tom Hoctor, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026

That necessitated a rule change. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026

Julia had been born with a kidney disease, which would eventually necessitate a transplant. —Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

But as crowds have increased, necessitating pricey parking and shuttle reservations, many people are looking elsewhere in Northern California to get their redwoods fix. —Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for necessitate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

necessitate

verb

ne·​ces·​si·​tate ni-ˈses-ə-ˌtāt 

necessitated; necessitating

: to make necessary

sick enough to necessitate staying home

necessitation

-ˌses-ə-ˈtā-shən 

noun