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

That could improve the rearview mirror look without necessarily changing the road ahead as the outlook remains cloudy. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026

Some horses come in severely injured, which is no longer necessarily a death sentence. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026

None of those documents necessarily explain why the family made those decisions or how the different pieces are supposed to work together. — Anatoly Iofe, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026

Saldaña says the nature of the Lioness program originally meant the show was built to introduce a new operative each season, rather than necessarily return to its first-season story. — Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026

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