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unnecessary

unnecessary

300 1.6
More than is needed or wanted
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈnɛsəˌsɛri/
translation icon : innecesario
  • Many people find that the extra features on their phones are unnecessary and rarely used.
  • avoid unnecessary risks
  • make unnecessary
  • deem unnecessary

It's so silly, it's so unnecessary and that's it.

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Examples

  • Walter, look, this is an unnecessary distraction.

  • The entire expense is unnecessary.

  • So in fact further progress was probably unnecessary and perhaps impossible.

  • Why does this completely unnecessary thing exist?

  • But so many are unnecessary and so many are job killing.

  • His plan made sense to me, because it meant there would be no unnecessary victims.

  • Environmental problems due to energy use are unnecessary and only increase business costs.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Students need opportunities to make music on their own without unnecessary teacher controls.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The current congressional defense budget process places unnecessary burdens on the Department of Defense.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Given this backdrop, additional and largely unnecessary losses of popular sovereignty would be counterproductive or even dangerous.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

needless
vsunnecessary
112 3.0

Not needed and avoidable, often causing harm or waste

describes lack of need without judging the reason behind it
redundant
vsunnecessary
49 5.1

More than needed and not useful because it repeats something

means not required but does not focus on repetition or obsolescence
superfluous
vsunnecessary
22 7.0

More than what is needed or useful

is the basic idea of not needed or wanted in general
extraneous
vsunnecessary
17 7.5

Not related or needed and coming from outside

is about not being needed rather than foreign origin or relevance
nonessential
vsunnecessary
11 4.4

Not needed for something to work or be successful

implies optional status rather than complete lack of value
unneeded
vsunnecessary
7 2.3

Not necessary or useful in a situation

is the general label for things that are not required or wanted
inessential
vsunnecessary
1 5.3

Not needed for a particular purpose or situation

focuses on general lack of need rather than technical necessity
unessential
vsunnecessary
1 5.0

Not needed for the main purpose

signals an optional role rather than total absence of purpose
surplus to requirements
vsunnecessary
6.1

More than needed and no longer useful

covers not being wanted or needed generally rather than redundancy alone
nonfundamental
vsunnecessary
6.6

Not necessary for the main part of a plan, idea, or system

concerns lack of necessity overall rather than absence of foundation

Antonyms

1.0

Needed and cannot be avoided

How Unnecessary

superfluous
22 7.0
redundant
49 5.1
unnecessary
300 1.6
unneeded
7 2.3
dispensable
4 6.1

Surface Forms

unnecessary positive
unnecessarier comparative
unnecessariest superlative

Morphology

unnecessary = necessary (transparent) = un + necessary

The productive negative prefix 'un-' directly negates the common adjective 'necessary', so the meaning is immediately recoverable by learners.

Etymology

The word unnecessary is made of un- ('not') and necessary ('needed'). So it literally means 'not needed' or more than is required, which is why an unnecessary expense is something you could avoid.