necessarily

adverb

nec·​es·​sar·​i·​ly ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē 

1

: of necessity : unavoidably

The audience was necessarily small.

This endeavor necessarily involves some risk.

2

: as a logical result or consequence

… a holocaust is a disaster, but a disaster is not necessarily a holocaust.

—Harry Shaw

Synonyms of necessarily

• inevitably

Examples of necessarily in a Sentence

the argument that the existence of the universe necessarily implies the existence of an all-powerful being responsible for creating it

Recent Examples on the Web

But Patachou was the first of a genre that seems to keep getting more pretentious if not necessarily better. —Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 5 Dec. 2025

Trailing late in games isn’t exactly reflective of a dominant team that’s necessarily destined for greatness. —Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 4 Dec. 2025

The decision to locate a base here will also involve hiring 90 new first officers during the first quarter of 2026, although the new pilots won’t all be necessarily working out of San Diego International Airport. —Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Dec. 2025

No one necessarily looks forward to dunking their face in freezing water. —Jasmine Thompson, Health, 30 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing necessarily

• not necessarily

Rhymes for necessarily

• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• momentarily
• ordinarily
• secondarily
• temporarily
• voluntarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily