nec•es•sar•y
Pronunciation: (nes'u-ser"ē), [key]
— adj., n., pl. -sar•ies.
—adj.
- being essential, indispensable, or requisite: a necessary part of the motor.
- happening or existing by necessity: a necessary change in our plans.
- acting or proceeding from compulsion or necessity; not free; involuntary: a necessary agent.
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- (of a proposition) such that a denial of it involves a self-contradiction.
- (of an inference or argument) such that its conclusion cannot be false if its supporting premises are true.
- (of a condition) such that it must exist if a given event is to occur or a given thing is to exist. Cf.sufficient(def. 2).
—n.
- something necessary or requisite; necessity.
- food, clothing, etc., required by a dependent or incompetent and varying with his or her social or economic position or that of the person upon whom he or she is dependent.
- a privy or toilet.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.