HOW TO PRONOUNCE
necessity
/nəˈsɛsəti/
Press play to hear how to pronounce necessity.
American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
Watch on YouTube ↗
Watch on YouTube ↗
What does necessity mean?
noun
- The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite.
- The condition of being needy; desperate need; lack.
- Something necessary; a requisite; something indispensable.
More meanings (4)
noun
- Something which makes an act or an event unavoidable; an irresistible force; overruling power.
- The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism.
- Greater utilitarian good; used in justification of a criminal act.
- Indispensable requirements (of life).
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/nəˈsɛsəti/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
The surplus he holds merely as custodian, and it is passed on to the younger members of the community as necessity demands.
Nathan Johnson, mine host, placed great emphasis upon this necessity, and wished me to allow him to select a name for me.
More book examples (3)
The deep of night is crept upon our talk, And nature must obey necessity, Which we will niggard with a little rest.
The necessity of his keeping up the pretence with others rose on the instant like a looming shadow before his mental vision.
A cruel sort of game, of which Musset grew more and more weary, but which to George Sand gradually became a necessity.