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

Where does the threshold live that an action necessitates some proportional reaction? — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2026

Pointer has voiced his concerns in the past as the park has had multiple delays, including cracking in the concrete cap that necessitated replacement. — Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 June 2026

And getting the story right necessitates telling the whole story, not only from the perspective of a George Washington, but from the perspective of somebody who worked in that house. — Deena Zaru, ABC News, 4 July 2026

Janet, meanwhile, is having the kind of emotional breakdown that necessitates producer intervention. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 July 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