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Glite Dictionary
of necessity

of necessity

17 4.6
Something happens because it cannot be avoided
  • idiom
  • Formal
translation icon : por necesidad
  • We're not here out of choice, we're here out of necessity.
  • make a virtue of necessity
  • virtue of necessity

Everything happens of necessity or fate in some respect.

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Examples

  • Design for present-day racing wheelchairs developed out of necessity and common sense.

    Academic text (1993)

  • It is a matter of necessity for me and my family.

    House of Sand and Fog (2003)

  • So if we cut aid of necessity we damage the position of women and girls.

  • But I do them out of necessity.

    Am I Racist? (2024)

  • We're acting out of necessity.

    Quantum of Solace (2008)

  • So, out of necessity, I taught myself the art of healing.

    Hercules (2014)

  • Efforts to accomplish one will, of necessity, facilitate the achievement of the other.

    Academic text (1997)

  • To some extent, my father's self-sufficiency was a matter of necessity since he never had much money.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • He moved to the city out of necessity because his job required it.

  • The students studied all night out of necessity to prepare for the final exam.

Synonyms

necessarily
vsof necessity
∞ 3.7

In a way that cannot be avoided

restricts this to events happening because they cannot be avoided, not mere requirement
inevitably
vsof necessity
181 4.0

You cannot avoid it

emphasizes happening because it cannot be avoided rather than certainty alone
unavoidably
vsof necessity
5 4.1

In a way that cannot be stopped

focuses on inevitability as the reason something happens rather than choice
inescapably
vsof necessity
3 5.8

In a way that cannot be avoided

is used to say something happens because it cannot be avoided

Antonyms

unnecessary
300 1.6

More than is needed or wanted

optional
99 3.3

Not required, so you can choose whether to have or use it

How Necessary

inevitably
181 4.0
of necessity
  • Formal
17 4.6
probably
∞ 1.0
possibly
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

of necessity positive

Morphology

of + necessity

The phrase 'of necessity' is compositionally built from 'necessity' (something essential or unavoidable) with the preposition 'of' indicating relation or cause, yielding the meaning 'by necessity/inevitably'. This pattern is regular in English and has clear parallels in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase of necessity comes from the simple idea that necessity means a strong need you cannot avoid, so something done of necessity is done because it must. That's why it means 'cannot be avoided'.