necessitate

verb

ne·​ces·​si·​tate ni-ˈse-sə-ˌtāt 

necessitated; necessitating

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 

noun

Synonyms

• bear
• challenge
• claim
• demand
• need
• require
• take
• want
• warrant

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

The situation necessitates a strategic evaluation of AI investments as stakeholders seek reassurance amid changing trends. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 29 Jan. 2025

Nonetheless, the nationwide waiting list for a donor organ is more than 90,000 people, which necessitates some innovative thinking. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2025

Blogging, in turn, had its own demands—namely, the need to post constantly—which necessitated faster access to authoritative sources. —Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2025

The wedding was out of town, which necessitated a motel stay, meals and gas, in addition to a generous cash gift. —Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

necessitate

verb

ne·​ces·​si·​tate ni-ˈses-ə-ˌtāt 

necessitated; necessitating

: to make necessary

sick enough to necessitate staying home

necessitation

-ˌses-ə-ˈtā-shən 

noun