# necessary

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈnɛs.ə.sɹi/ · frequency rank #1,315

## Definitions
1. Required, essential, whether logically inescapable or needed in order to achieve a desired result or avoid some penalty.
2. Unavoidable, inevitable.
3. Determined, involuntary: acting from compulsion rather than free will.

## Etymology
From Middle English necessarye, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable, inevitable, required”), variant of necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”), probably from ne or non cessum, from the perfect passive participle of cēdō (“yield; avoid, withdraw”); see cede.
Older use as a noun in reference to an outhouse or lavatory under the influence of English and Latin necessārium, a medieval term for the place for monks’ “unavoidable” business, usually located behind or attached to monastic dormitories.

## Easily confused with
- **necessity** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/necessary-vs-necessity)
- **necessarily** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/necessarily-vs-necessary)

## Common misspellings (12)
`encessary`, `nceessary`, `neccessary`, `necesary`, `necesasry`, `necessarry`, `necessaryy`, `necessayr`, `necessray`, `necsesary`, `neecssary`, `nnecessary`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/necessary