as in extra
not needed by the circumstances or to accomplish an end
that large suitcase is unnecessary—we are only going to be away for a couple of days
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unnecessary
As the Leafs took four (largely unnecessary) penalties in the first period, Woll stood tall.
—
Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 12 May 2025
Cancel the totally unnecessary and reviled military parade, which would cost millions.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2025
After all, it’s been head-scratching to watch my 11-year-old buy serums that seem totally unnecessary for her youthful complexion.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 12 May 2025
Employees simply pulling into work are thrust into an appropriately armed and amplified, but wholly unnecessary, police protective response.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unnecessary
Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 12 May 2025
Cancel the totally unnecessary and reviled military parade, which would cost millions.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2025
After all, it’s been head-scratching to watch my 11-year-old buy serums that seem totally unnecessary for her youthful complexion.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 12 May 2025
Employees simply pulling into work are thrust into an appropriately armed and amplified, but wholly unnecessary, police protective response.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unnecessary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unnecessary
Adjective
-
The clean formula contains a light shimmer to help skin look extra radiant in the sun.—
Celia Shatzman,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
-
For those who don’t want more AI, or to pay extra, Adobe is introducing a new plan called Creative Cloud Standard, which still gives you access to all of the company’s desktop apps, plus 25 image-generation credits every month.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
As mentioned, the Bellbird comes with a lot of optional upgrades and there are too many to list in full.—
Adam Williams
May 17,
New Atlas,
17 May 2025
-
Once a week, there’s an optional 30-minute chapel led by the team chaplain before team meetings, Ferguson-Reynolds said.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
After recent excursions that have felt lacking for various reasons — sub-optimal stage design (Hungary, 2022), distance from Italy (Jerusalem, 2018), and a needless trip to one of cycling’s existing heartlands (Netherlands, 2016) — Albania was a vast improvement.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
-
Optimizing For Performance: To guarantee AI can get the appropriate data at the appropriate moment without needless latency or expenses, scalable infrastructure and effective data distribution methods should be put in place.—
Artyom Keydunov,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
Brock Purdy certainly isn't going to be paid like someone who's irrelevant anymore.—
Cesar Brioso,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
-
But the details of how Peter ran his kingdom are irrelevant, if colorful.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
The top nonessential items and services that Americans consider to be necessities are streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.—
Alexandra Pastore,
Footwear News,
5 May 2025
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Also, market losses make investors feel poorer and less willing to spend money on nonessential items.—
Russ Wiles,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Earlier this week, Gates took to Instagram to give his unwarranted opinion on the couple’s relationship.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Congratulations to Harvard University for fighting back against the Trump administration’s unseemly efforts to use federal dollars to try to exert unwarranted control over higher education.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This multi-sensor system dynamically analyzes obstacles and depth changes, optimizing the cleaning path while avoiding redundant motions.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
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Layers of redundant regulation should be removed, and regulatory functions should be consolidated.—
Norbert Michel,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
Everything else, whether AI or organizers or schedulers, is really just a cheat code—nice to have but dispensable.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
6 May 2025
-
To the Soviet state, the lives and the health of the local population in these remote areas were dispensable.—
Franziska Exeler,
The Dial,
18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unnecessary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unnecessary. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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