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

Over the next several hours, Alqam and his colleagues remained on the line with Hind and arranged for an ambulance to rescue her—a process that necessitated a long wait to secure the Israeli military’s approval. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2026

Even if the Vikings believe McCarthy has the talent to be a top-tier QB, his injury history necessitates a reliable backup. —Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026

Another tailwind would come from Intel continuing to push its foundry business, which would necessitate structurally higher process control tool investment levels. —Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2026

The bite progressed, necessitating the amputation of her toe. —Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 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