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

This whole debacle necessitated some time spent in the county jail and another stint in rehab. —Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2026

Additionally, reaching the final stages of net-zero action will require electrification across more of the manufacturing floor and systems, which will necessitate investment in retrofitting or acquiring new machines. —Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 19 Mar. 2026

The administration argued in court that benefits fraud in Colorado necessitated a pilot program, that the federal government had the ability to mandate such a program and that the state did not show the immediate, irreparable harm that would warrant a preliminary injunction. —Evan Bush, NBC news, 17 Mar. 2026

Practicing Judaism necessitates looking around, far more than once in a while. —Risa Polansky Shiman, Sun Sentinel, 16 Mar. 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