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

• bear
• challenge
• claim
• demand
• need
• require
• take
• want
• warrant

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

Affordable housing necessitates higher density building within existing developments or further suburban expansion requiring more infrastructure and greater commuting. —Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025

In 2003, failure of a vertical strut necessitated emergency repairs to the bridge, during which it was closed for 10 days. —Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2025

While foundational skills may have been acquired through college or previous roles, even a short absence from the workforce can necessitate a skill refresh. —Christine Michel Carter, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

That necessitates building partisan and international consensuses, which appear elusive in Trumpworld, in order to keep the project alive through changes in political control of the White House and Congress. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 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