necessarily

[ nes-uh-sair-uh-lee, -ser- ]

adverb

1. by or of necessity; as a matter of compulsion or requirement:

   You don't necessarily have to attend.

2. as a necessary, logical, or inevitable result:

   That conclusion doesn't necessarily follow.

necessarily

/ ˌnɛsɪˈsɛrɪlɪ; ˈnɛsɪsərɪlɪ /

adverb

1. as an inevitable or natural consequence

   girls do not necessarily like dolls

2. as a certainty

   he won't necessarily come

Word History and Origins

Origin of necessarily¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; necessary, -ly

Example Sentences

The proposed prison sentence is "convertible" and France's AFP news agency says that Le Pen "would not necessarily go to prison".

From BBC

Alison Ashworth, a senior solicitor advocate in motoring law, explained the number of penalty points were "not necessarily a pertinent consideration" when it comes to these arguments.

From BBC

Many of them aren't necessarily lonely: They meet interested men out and about, and have plenty of friends to keep them company.

From Salon

It demonstrates that love, though perhaps the world’s most beautiful emotion, is not necessarily the most important one, at least not when oppressive politics become involved.

From Salon

“It’s not necessarily more effective. So much of lifting is about coordination, neuromuscular activity in your body and stabilization and that’s not present using machines the way it is with free weights.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• automatically
• naturally
• no doubt
• undoubtedly
• unquestionably