necessary

adj.

1. Absolutely essential. See synonyms at indispensable.
2. Needed to achieve a certain result or effect; requisite: the necessary tools.
3. 1. Unavoidably determined by prior conditions or circumstances; inevitable: the necessary results of overindulgence.
   2. Logically inevitable.
4. Required by obligation, compulsion, or convention: made the necessary apologies.

n., pl., -ies.
Something indispensable.

[Middle English necessarie, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius, from necesse.]

adjective

1. Incapable of being dispensed with: essential, indispensable, needful, required, requisite. See important/unimportant, necessary/unnecessary.
2. Imposed on one by authority, command, or convention: compulsory, imperative, mandatory, obligatory, required, requisite. See obligation.

adj

Definition: essential
Antonyms: dispensable, inessential, nonessential, unimportant, unnecessary, useless

adj

Definition: inevitable
Antonyms: contingent, needless, optional, possible, voluntary

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n/adj

Anything indispensable or useful for the sustenance of human life, such as food, shelter, and clothing.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Things indispensable, or things proper and useful, for the sustenance of human life.

Traditional law required a husband to support his wife during their marriage irrespective of the wife's own means, her own ability to support herself, or even her own earnings, which, according to the Married Women's Property Acts passed in the mid-nineteenth century, she could do with as she pleased. The wife had no corresponding duty to support her husband. A husband owed the same support to the couple's children. He had the legal obligation to provide "necessaries" for his wife and children, which encompass food, clothing, lodging, health care, education, and comfort. Modern family law is now gender neutral: husbands and wives have an equal and mutual obligation to provide necessaries.

Courts rarely let themselves be involved in family disputes concerning necessaries while the marriage is ongoing. Depending on a couple's income, what is deemed "necessary" will vary widely. Although the level at which a spouse is to be maintained during marriage should correspond to the couple's station in life, successful litigation defining support obligations during marriage is rare. When a couple separates or divorces, maintenance and support become issues for the courts.

The law has recognized the wife's traditional authority to purchase necessaries. If a husband fails to fulfill his duty of support, his wife is authorized to purchase what necessaries she or their child needs, on the husband's credit and even against his express wishes. Beyond the basic necessities, courts look to the couple's circumstances. In some cases fur coats, gold watches, jewelry, and expensive furniture have been deemed necessaries. It is up to the merchant to show that the unauthorized purchases were in fact necessaries, and the merchant will not collect from the husband if the husband actually furnished appropriate necessaries to his wife and family.

The future of the necessaries rule is unclear. It may become gender neutral by evolving to protect purchases by the nonearning spouse in role-divided marriages, or it may disappear altogether because of the increasing financial independence of marriage partners and the attendant blurring of role division.

See: Alimony; Child Support; Divorce; Husband and Wife.

IN BRIEF: That which is needed or required.

It isn't necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It's only necessary to be rich. — Alan Alda, American actor and director.

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Common misspelling(s) of necessary

• neccesary
• necesary
• neccessary

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - nødvendig
n. - fornødenhed

idioms:

• the necessary    det nødvendige

Nederlands (Dutch)
noodzakelijk, benodigd, vereist, onmisbaar, onvermijdelijk

Français (French)
adj. - essentiel, indispensable, requis, nécessaire, inévitable, inéluctable
n. - (l') indispensable, (le) nécessaire

idioms:

• the necessary    le nécessaire

Deutsch (German)
adj. - nötig, notwendig, unumgänglich
n. - Erfordernis, Bedürfnis

idioms:

• the necessary    (ugs.) Geld, das Notwendige

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αναγκαίος, απαραίτητος
n. - (πληθ.) μέσα διαβίωσης/συντήρησης, τα απαραίτητα, τα χρειώδη, (καθομ.) αποχωρητήριο

idioms:

• the necessary    χρήματα, το κινητήριο μέσο, ο παράς

Italiano (Italian)
necessario, inevitabile

idioms:

• the necessary    il necessario

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - necessário, inevitável
n. - necessidade (f)

idioms:

• the necessary    o necessário

Русский (Russian)
необходимый, обязательный

idioms:

• the necessary    бабки, все, что нужно

Español (Spanish)
adj. - necesario, imprescindible, esencial, indispensable
n. - requisito, necesidades básicas

idioms:

• the necessary    lo necesario, lo indispensable

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - nödvändig, ofrånkomlig
n. - nödvändigt ting, nödvändighetsartikel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
必需的, 必然的, 必要的, 必需品, 日用品

idioms:

• the necessary    必需品

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 必需的, 必然的, 必要的
n. - 必需品, 日用品

idioms:

• the necessary    必需品

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 필수적인, 피할 수 없는
n. - 필수품, 돈, (영)변소

idioms:

• the necessary    필요한 것(행위), 돈

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 必要な, 必然の, 義務づけられた, 選沢の自由のない, 必然的な, 避けられない
n. - 必要なもの, 生活必需品, 必要な行動, 必要な物, 必需品

idioms:

• the necessary    必要なもの, 生活必需品, 必要な行動

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) ضروري (الاسم) شيء ضروري‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮הכרחי, נחוץ, חיוני‬
n. - ‮ברבים: הצרכים היסודיים של החיים‬

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