1
as in required
forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law
an emissions test is necessary before you can renew the registration for your car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inevitable
impossible to avoid or evade
taxes will always be a necessary evil
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in essential
impossible to do without
food and water are necessary for survival
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in must
something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable
a modest income that provided the family with only the necessaries of life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of necessary
Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 25 Apr. 2025
During a 2020 heat wave, California’s grid operator was forced to institute rotating outages, a necessary step to protect the grid in California and neighboring states.
—Michael Wara, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2025
Warren Kulo | Wkulo@al.com, al, 19 Apr. 2023
Yet its location on a critical trade route through the Strait of Gibraltar and the challenge of Barbary pirates in the vicinity made a more official presence for the American necessary.
—Graham Cornwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 May 2021
See All Example Sentences for necessary
Adjective
Though this is promising, additional evidence is necessary to confirm the potential role peptides may play in protection against sun damage.13
3.
—Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 25 Apr. 2025
During a 2020 heat wave, California’s grid operator was forced to institute rotating outages, a necessary step to protect the grid in California and neighboring states.
—Michael Wara, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2025
Noun
Blakely has been charged with capital murder, while Washington is charged with child deprivation of necessaries with substantial harm.
—Warren Kulo | Wkulo@al.com, al, 19 Apr. 2023
Yet its location on a critical trade route through the Strait of Gibraltar and the challenge of Barbary pirates in the vicinity made a more official presence for the American necessary.
—Graham Cornwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 May 2021
See All Example Sentences for necessary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for necessary
Adjective
-
White children also had fewer days from termination of parental rights to adoption finalization, a required step in the adoption process, with an average time of 273.5 days.—
Cheyanne M. Daniels,
The Hill,
24 Apr. 2025
-
So these are cases in which there is no response from disclosure in the first place by the required statutory deadlines to administratively appeal.—
Tax Notes Staff,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But, after Stroitel’s inevitable withdrawal from the 1986 KFK, attempts were eventually made to keep the club going.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
-
Their deaths were not inevitable—they were exposed to, and in many cases were pushed harmful content online, the kind any child could encounter.—
Stephanie Petit,
People.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Every child in New York deserves the chance to learn basic literacy, numeracy, science, and civics — skills essential for participating in society, holding a job, and fulfilling civic duties like voting or serving on a jury.—
David Bloomfield,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Garden gloves are essential for protecting our hands in the garden.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Parental monitoring a must, chief says Mooresville police conducted a similar sting in May 2024 called Operation Artemis, which led to 15 arrests.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2025
-
For connoisseurs, the pairing menus are a must, blending storytelling and flavor with seamless precision.—
Rai Mincey,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Following his mandatory Israeli army service, Ferder apprenticed under master cutters while going to school at night for business and gemology.—
Christopher Helman,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Pope Francis appointed Most Reverend Shawn McKnight to lead the archdiocese after Naumann’s mandatory retirement at the age of 75.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
One major change was the installation of visual and audio warning systems to alert pilots of possible throttle misconfigurations.—
Isadora Wandermurem,
Time,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The study is connected to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s promise to find a definitive cause of the neurological and developmental disorder as soon as possible, Bhattacharya said at a public health conference in Washington.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
India's import licensing requirements, foreign direct investment caps, and state-run trading monopolies control who can do business and under what terms.—
Garth Friesen,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
-
Following that outbreak, California lawmakers strengthened childhood vaccination requirements for schoolchildren.—
Rong-Gong Lin II,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Jack would begin a compulsory ninety-day psychiatric evaluation in the California Institution for Men in Chino, a rough place known to be brutal to younger inmates for the same possession charges.—
Susannah Cahalan,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Now, Weight Watchers isn’t exactly facing bankruptcy because people everywhere are suddenly looking inward and agreeing to throw off the shackles of compulsory thinness.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Necessary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/necessary. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share