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

Proponents argue that, like cars or firearms, AI's importance necessitates formal registration for governance and ethical oversight. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

As such, getting rid of polio for good necessitates countries switching from the oral vaccine to the shot. — Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

Iran has destroyed our bases in the Persian Gulf, necessitating 2,200-mile supply lines to Navy ships. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026

Indirect signs also suggest the proto-Neolithic community also dined on the European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus), which featured tough scales that necessitated a completely different type of butchering. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 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