necessarily

adverb

nec·​es·​sar·​i·​ly ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē 

1

: of necessity : unavoidably

The audience was necessarily small.

This endeavor necessarily involves some risk.

2

: as a logical result or consequence

… a holocaust is a disaster, but a disaster is not necessarily a holocaust.

—Harry Shaw

Synonyms

• ineluctably
• inescapably
• inevitably
• ipso facto
• needs
• perforce
• unavoidably

Examples of necessarily in a Sentence

the argument that the existence of the universe necessarily implies the existence of an all-powerful being responsible for creating it

Recent Examples on the Web

In this slice-of-life portrait, Chen shows how childhood experiences can shape someone, illustrating how a childhood passion might expand their horizons without necessarily becoming a lifelong vocation. —Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 29 Mar. 2025

Not even necessarily soundtrack charts, which was especially crazy because that was the moment when Panic! —Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 29 Mar. 2025

Not everyone who has improved in 2024-25 has necessarily surprised. —Fred Katz, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

Each of these represents a breathtaking exercise of executive authority, one that necessarily puts the President on a collision course with the courts and Congress—and one under which, if Roberts’s view is taken to its logical end, the executive branch is bound to prevail. —Cristian Farias, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing necessarily

• not necessarily

Rhymes for necessarily

• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• momentarily
• ordinarily
• secondarily
• temporarily
• voluntarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily