necessitate

verb

ne·​ces·​si·​tate ni-ˈse-sə-ˌtāt How to pronounce necessitate (audio)
necessitated; necessitating
Synonyms of necessitatenext

transitive verb

1
: to make necessary : require
Business was growing, which necessitated the hiring of additional employees.
2
: force, compel
was necessitated to choose some other route
necessitation
ni-ˌse-sə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce necessitate (audio)
noun

Synonyms of necessitate

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of necessitate in a Sentence

New safety regulations necessitated adding a railing to the stairs. getting new shoes would necessitate another trip to the mall
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
But Apple says that both the materials used and the actual nano-texture pattern are both different, changes that were necessitated by the fact that this is a foldable phone and not an inert glass slab. — ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026 Applying the current standards in the Maryland Constitution appears to necessitate a congressional district that encompasses all of the Eastern Shore. — Dan Lipinski, Baltimore Sun, 27 Oct. 2026 Those pesky censors necessitated certain alterations upon release. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2026 The president’s 2027 budget proposal would reduce funding for the agency by another $700 million, which could necessitate 900 additional layoffs. — Andy Mannix, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for necessitate

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of necessitate was in 1625

Rhymes for necessitate

See All Rhymes for necessitate

Browse Nearby Words

necessitarianism
necessitate
necessitation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Necessitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/necessitate. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

necessitate

verb
ne·​ces·​si·​tate ni-ˈses-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce necessitate (audio)
necessitated; necessitating
: to make necessary
sick enough to necessitate staying home
necessitation
-ˌses-ə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce necessitate (audio)
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All