Synonyms of necessity

necessity

noun

ni-ˈse-sə-tē 

1

as in requirement

something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable

on any road trip, accurate maps are a necessity

Synonyms & Similar Words

• requirement
• must
• necessary
• need
• essential
• requisite
• demand
• needful
• must-have
• condition
• prerequisite
• sine qua non
• precondition
• advantage
• plus
• wish
• desideratum
• edge
• desideration

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• surplus
• luxury
• comfort
• extra
• extravagance
• indulgence
• nonnecessity
• nonessential
• superfluity
• surplusage
• frill
• amenity

2

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions

two years of unemployment had reduced the family to abject necessity

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poverty
• misery
• need
• destitution
• impoverishment
• penury
• indigence
• pauperism
• neediness
• beggary
• poorness
• deprivation
• impecuniosity
• impecuniousness
• exigency
• penuriousness
• destituteness
• emergency
• want
• bankruptcy
• wretchedness
• woe
• privation
• gutter
• rainy day
• insolvency
• austerity
• pinching
• belt-tightening
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealth
• richness
• affluence
• opulence
• luxury
• prosperity
• wealthiness

Examples of necessity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These sites could temporarily serve between 100 and 150 homeless residents and provide basic necessities like food, potable water, toilets and showers. —Devan Patel, The Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2024

The state has notoriously high prices for necessities like housing, groceries and insurance. —Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2024

The companies have hit trouble as low-income customers struggle to afford basic necessities and dial back their spending, strategic mistakes haunt their business and competition from Walmart and other chains increases. —Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 4 Sep. 2024

Ensuring that the actors were actually teenagers was a necessity for Edwards. —Talia McWright, Twin Cities, 1 Sep. 2024