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Glite Dictionary
unnecessity

unnecessity

8.4
A thing or situation that is not needed
  • noun
  • /ˌʌnˈnɛsəˌsɪti/
translation icon : inutilidad
  • His decision to buy an expensive car turned out to be an unnecessity since he rarely drove it.

Examples

  • So we cut corners on unnecessities and eat better, right?

    Blog text (10)

  • My second argument: Obsession connotes excess, and excess, in turn, unnecessity.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Don't ask for peace, or freedom, or hope, for peace is the essence of arrogance, and freedom is worthlessness and your unnecessity, and fear alone is belief and repentance.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The gadget was an unnecessity in the kitchen, as all I needed was a simple knife.

  • Removing unnecessities from my life helped me focus on what truly matters.

Synonyms

nonessential
vsunnecessity
1 5.6

A thing that is not needed

is the abstract state of not being needed rather than a specific item
needlessness
vsunnecessity
6.2

A situation where something is not needed

is the same idea but expressed with a different word
nonnecessity
vsunnecessity
7.4

A thing you do not need

is the general idea of not being needed rather than naming a thing
dispensableness
vsunnecessity
9.9

The fact that something is not needed

describes the general state of not being necessary rather than omitability
inessentiality
vsunnecessity
9.6

A state in which something is not necessary

focuses simply on not being necessary rather than on importance level
superfluousness
vsunnecessity
8.4

Being more than what is needed

means merely not needed without implying extra quantity
gratuitousness
vsunnecessity
8.9

A quality of being unnecessary and without good reason

is the neutral absence of necessity without judging the reason
extraneousness
vsunnecessity
9.9

The fact of not being related or important to the main point

refers simply to not being needed, not to being irrelevant

Antonyms

necessity
274 2.0

A thing you need to live, like food or water

How Necessary

necessity
274 2.0
need
∞ 1.0
unnecessity
8.4
surplus
192 3.1
option
∞ 2.2
trifle
18 4.6

Surface Forms

unnecessity singular
unnecessities plural

Morphology

unnecessity = necessity (transparent) = un + necessity

A direct negation formed by the productive prefix 'un-' applied to the noun 'necessity', yielding 'not necessary' or 'something not needed'.

Etymology

The word unnecessity comes from un- meaning 'not' and necessity, which is like 'need'. So, an unnecessity is something 'not needed'.