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

The siblings live in a fascist America where overpopulation has necessitated the creation of a Child Allocation Bureau (run by Glenn Close), which imposes a single-child policy on all families. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025

All of the injuries could necessitate some roster juggling, since only two players can be elevated from the practice squad. —Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025

The kind that might necessitate creative thinking. —Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025

Spinal stenosis limits her mobility, necessitating the walkers and wheelchairs and considerable help from her husband, Dennis, who serves as her primary caregiver. —Paula Span, Miami Herald, 15 Dec. 2025

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