not necessarily

phrase

: possibly but not certainly

—used to say that something is not definitely true

Seats in the front row are not necessarily the best.

"We're going to lose this game." "Not necessarily."

Examples of not necessarily in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The question for several speakers was not necessarily whether data centers should exist in Marietta, but what rules should govern them. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

For example, to say this string of games means a fully fit and firing Sesko would have his place challenged up front by Mbeumo is not necessarily a fair takeaway. — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026

Small earthquakes are common around Yellowstone and do not necessarily indicate that magma is rising. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026

The goal is appropriate adoption, not necessarily universal adoption. — John F. McQuillan, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for not necessarily

• extraordinarily
• hereditarily
• pecuniarily
• preliminarily
• unnecessarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily
• warily
• wearily
• arbitrarily