Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not necessary; needless.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not necessary; needless; not required by the circumstances of the case; useless: as, unnecessary labor or care; unnecessary rigor.
  • noun pl. unnecessaries (-riz). That which is unnecessary or dispensable.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not necessary; not required under the circumstances; unless; needless.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Not needed or necessary.
  • adjective Done in addition to requirements; unrequired.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not necessary

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ necessary

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Examples

  • Please refrain from using the term unnecessary booze.

    Sun Tan Fathorse 2007

  • Both organizations use the Israeli Supreme Court as venue for attempting to bring about home demolitions in Judea and Samaria communities and for attempts to indict Israeli civilians and soldiers for what they term unnecessary violence in the face of perceived terrorist threats.

    Israelated - English Israel blogs Israel Matzav 2010

  • Both organizations use the Israeli Supreme Court as venue for attempting to bring about home demolitions in Judea and Samaria communities and for attempts to indict Israeli civilians and soldiers for what they term unnecessary violence in the face of perceived terrorist threats.

    Israelated - English Israel blogs Israel Matzav 2010

  • Both organizations use the Israeli Supreme Court as venue for attempting to bring about home demolitions in Judea and Samaria communities and for attempts to indict Israeli civilians and soldiers for what they term unnecessary violence in the face of perceived terrorist threats.

    legitgov 2010

  • Both organizations use the Israeli Supreme Court as venue for attempting to bring about home demolitions in Judea and Samaria communities and for attempts to indict Israeli civilians and soldiers for what they term unnecessary violence in the face of perceived terrorist threats.

    legitgov 2010

  • The Oregon board forced Dr. Makker to undergo remedial training in 2006 for what it called unnecessary surgeries and for allegedly billing for procedures he didn't perform, but his status is listed as active on its website.

    Hospital Bars Surgeon From Operating Room John Carreyrou 2011

  • Democrats on the board said the rule aims to eliminate what they call "unnecessary litigation" that occurs during elections.

    Unions Win More Freedom to Organize in Workplace Melanie Trottman 2011

  • The final draft rule would be based on six provisions that he said are aimed solely at reducing what he described as unnecessary legal action.

    Rule to Speed Union Votes Moves Forward Melanie Trottman 2011

  • A few months before Kenny's cancer diagnosis, we were arguing about what I called unnecessary spending.

    Carol Jones: How My Husband's Desperate Words Helped Me Find My Compassionate Heart Carol Jones 2011

  • A few months before Kenny's cancer diagnosis, we were arguing about what I called unnecessary spending.

    Carol Jones: How My Husband's Desperate Words Helped Me Find My Compassionate Heart Carol Jones 2011

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