Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Necessary \Nec"es*sa*ry\, a. [L. necessarius, from necesse
unavoidable, necessary; of uncertain origin: cf. F.
n['e]cessaire.]
1. Such as must be; impossible to be otherwise; not to be
avoided; inevitable.
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Death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come. --Shak.
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2. Impossible to be otherwise, or to be dispensed with,
without preventing the attainment of a desired result;
indispensable; requisite; essential. "'T is necessary he
should die." --Shak.
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A certain kind of temper is necessary to the
pleasure and quiet of our minds. --Tillotson.
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3. Acting from necessity or compulsion; involuntary; --
opposed to free; as, whether man is a necessary or a
free agent is a question much discussed.
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Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Necessary \Nec"es*sa*ry\, n.; pl. Necessaries.
1. A thing that is necessary or indispensable to some
purpose; something that one can not do without; a
requisite; an essential; -- used chiefly in the plural;
as, the necessaries of life.
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2. A privy; a water-closet.
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3. pl. (Law) Such things, in respect to infants, lunatics,
and married women, as are requisite for support suitable
to station.
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necessary
adj 1: absolutely essential [ant: unnecessary, unneeded]
2: unavoidably determined by prior circumstances; "the necessary
consequences of one's actions"
n 1: anything indispensable; "food and shelter are necessities
of life"; "the essentials of the good life"; "allow farmers
to buy their requirements under favorable conditions"; "a
place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be
obtained" [syn: necessity, essential, requirement,
requisite, necessary] [ant: inessential,
nonessential]