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 heavy crash forced a red flag to repair the barrier, bringing the race to a halt and necessitating a second standing start. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026

Already there have been accommodations from coach Erik Spoelstra, just as there were from Spoelstra during the Big Three era, in this case necessitated by a 0-4 start. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026

And there is a growing recognition in both Congress and the White House that China’s steady accrual of power necessitates a more focused approach to competition. — Ali Wyne, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2026

Applying the current standards in the Maryland Constitution appears to necessitate a congressional district that encompasses all of the Eastern Shore. — Dan Lipinski, Baltimore Sun, 27 Oct. 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