unnecessarily
adverb
un·nec·es·sar·i·ly
ˌən-ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē 
: not by necessity : to an unnecessary degree
unnecessarily harsh criticism
Examples of unnecessarily in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
City officials argued that the protests were largely peaceful and manageable, and that the presence of armed troops escalated tensions unnecessarily.
—
Nik Popli, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
While the city argued the ordinance was meant to maintain safety, Young said the new policies went too far and restricted speech unnecessarily to achieve that goal.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 2 Sep. 2025
Critics of the way the administration is handling immigration enforcement have raised concerns that holding people without criminal convictions or charges unnecessarily burdens the system and pulls undocumented immigrants away from their families.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
This could lead to novel ideas for developing new kinds of pain relief in humans, especially for conditions where the nervous system amplifies pain signals unnecessarily.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unnecessarily
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Nik Popli, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
While the city argued the ordinance was meant to maintain safety, Young said the new policies went too far and restricted speech unnecessarily to achieve that goal.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 2 Sep. 2025
Critics of the way the administration is handling immigration enforcement have raised concerns that holding people without criminal convictions or charges unnecessarily burdens the system and pulls undocumented immigrants away from their families.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
This could lead to novel ideas for developing new kinds of pain relief in humans, especially for conditions where the nervous system amplifies pain signals unnecessarily.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unnecessarily
Cite this Entry
“Unnecessarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unnecessarily. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unnecessarily
adverb
un·nec·es·sar·i·ly
ˌən-ˌnes-ə-ˈser-ə-lē
1
: not by necessity
spent money unnecessarily
2
: to an unnecessary degree
an unnecessarily harsh punishment
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