necessitate

Everyday

1. (formal) To necessitate something is to make it necessary or needed. tree →
2. (formal) To necessitate means to force something to happen because there is no other way. tree →

In the lessons

It is a stiff exam and official word: «The damage necessitated repairs» means the damage made repairs needed. In everyday speech people say «means we need» or «makes us». In maths word problems it may appear in exam wording: «Calculate the number of buses this necessitates» means work out how many are needed.

Examples

• The heavy rain necessitated closing the school field. tree →
• A broken leg will necessitate a long rest. tree →
• (formal) The larger class size necessitates an additional teacher. tree →
• The trip necessitated an early start. tree →
• Building the bridge necessitated a lot of planning. tree →
• (formal) Determine how many boxes the delivery necessitates. tree →
• His injury necessitated a visit to hospital. tree →
• Nor is there, after all, so close a relation between the two types in their full development as to necessitate the derivation of one from the other. tree →

Note

Formal register; everyday equivalent «need», «mean we have to». Takes an object noun or -ing form: «necessitated changing», not «necessitated to change». Related: necessary, necessity. In maths problems it points to finding what is needed, often rounding up (you cannot hire part of a bus).