necessitate

1 of 2

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

necessitation

2 of 2

noun

ne·​ces·​si·​ta·​tion

plural -s

: the act of necessitating or condition of being necessitated

the absence of necessitation by the past

—A. C. Ewing

is good by free choice, not necessitation

—Nicholas Rescher

Synonyms of necessitate

Verb

• require
• need

Examples of necessitate in a Sentence

Verb

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

Verb

In an industry frequently critiqued for its insular nature and hyper-fixation on dizzying scale, a quiet movement is taking root—one built on the simple, radical premise that real innovation necessitates stepping outside the fashion bubble. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

There have also been several cases of people defecating near the doorway or on the outdoor patio, necessitating power washing and city support. — Melody Xu, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

And there’s still a chance that Willis’ 2026 performance could necessitate that the Dolphins must select a quarterback in the first round. — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in effect tied with his main challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, though neither appears likely to win outright in Sunday’s first-round vote, necessitating a runoff. — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

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