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necessity

 - 4 dictionary results

ne⋅ces⋅si⋅ty

  [nuh-ses-i-tee]
Use necessity in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties.
1. something necessary or indispensable: food, shelter, and other necessities of life.
2. the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability: the necessity of adequate housing.
3. an imperative requirement or need for something: the necessity for a quick decision.
4. the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable: to face the necessity of testifying in court.
5. an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something: not by choice but by necessity.
6. a state of being in financial need; poverty: a family in dire necessity.
7. Philosophy. the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws.
—Idiom
8. of necessity, as an inevitable result; unavoidably; necessarily: Our trip to China must of necessity be postponed for a while.
Origin:
1325–75; ME necessite < L necessitās, equiv. to necess(e) needful + -itās -ity

Synonyms:
3. demand. See need. 6. neediness, indigence, want.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To necessity
ne·ces·si·ty   (nə-sěs'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. ne·ces·si·ties

    1. The condition or quality of being necessary.

    2. Something necessary: The necessities of life include food, clothing, and shelter.

    3. Something dictated by invariable physical laws.

    4. The force exerted by circumstance.

    1. Something dictated by invariable physical laws.

    2. The force exerted by circumstance.

  3. The state or fact of being in need.

  4. Pressing or urgent need, especially that arising from poverty.


[Middle English necessite, from Old French, from Latin necessitās, from necesse, necessary; see necessary.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ne·ces·si·ty
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 a : the presence or pressure of circumstances that justify or compel a certain course of action; especially : a need to respond or react to a dangerous situation by committing a criminal act b : an affirmative defense originating in common law that the defendant had to commit a criminal act because of the pressure of a situation that threatened a harm greater than that resulting from the act —see also choice of evils defense at DEFENSE 2a —compare DURESS, UNDUE INFLUENCE
2 : something that is necessary esp. to subsistence necessities of food, clothing, and shelter>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

necessity

In addition to the idiom beginning with necessity, also see make a virtue of necessity; of necessity.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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