unnecessarily

adverb un·nec·es·sar·i·ly \ ˌən-ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē \

Definition of unnecessarily

:not by necessity :to an unnecessary degree

unnecessarily harsh criticism

Recent Examples of unnecessarily from the Web

Trump’s decision to abruptly upend that process, while divisive, was also seen as unnecessarily disruptive.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Is Donald Trump Losing Control of the Military?," 16 Aug. 2017
And fourth, such laws might encourage some people to think of themselves as victims unnecessarily.

— sapna rampersaud, National Review, "Every State Needs Enhanced Penalties for Cop-Killers," 16 Aug. 2017
For the hapless still-not-yet-former attorney general, all this chaos may take some of the joy out of reviving unnecessarily punitive drug policies.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "White House Floats Rudy Giuliani As Attorney General," 24 July 2017
This can start with rethinking prevailing wage mandates that unnecessarily raise the cost of infrastructure projects, and environmental regulations that often cause massive delays or top a project from getting off the ground in the first place.

— jason pye, National Review, "Deregulation Is the Key to a Successful Infrastructure Policy," 20 July 2017
The ball goes down near his ribcage (unnecessarily) and then back up.

— andy benoit, SI.com, "24 Hours With ... Patrick Peterson, the NFL’s Only Shutdown Cornerback. (Just Ask Him)," 19 July 2017
The music, particularly its lush, lyrical and finally tragic elements, is expertly arranged for a chamber orchestra which is (awkwardly and unnecessarily) partially visible onstage.

— misha berson, The Seattle Times, "Broadway’s ‘Fun Home’ arrives at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre," 17 July 2017
Crossing Mexico and trying to enter the United States, chancing deportation all along the way, seemed unnecessarily risky.

— christopher sherman, The Christian Science Monitor, "More families fleeing Central America leads to rise in refugee resettlement in Mexico," 5 July 2017
While this might sound high-brow (and unnecessarily expensive), Dr. Burke swears that the top-shelf stuff is filtered the most to remove impurities and toxins, which can make your hangover less severe.

— elizabeth narins, Cosmopolitan, "18 Expert-Tested Ways to Prevent a Hangover," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unnecessarily.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.