something necessary or indispensable

food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability

the necessity of adequate housing.

an imperative requirement or need for something

the necessity for a quick decision.

the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable

to face the necessity of testifying in court.

an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something

not by choice but by necessity.

a state of being in financial need; poverty

a family in dire necessity.

Philosophy . the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws. ?

of necessity

as an inevitable result; unavoidably; necessarily

Our trip to China must of necessity be postponed for a while.

noun

desire , want , choice , contingency , doubtfulness , option , possibility

noun

call , cause , claim , compulsion , demand , desideratum , duress , essence , essential , exaction , exigency , fundamental , godsend * , imperative , indispensability , inevitability , inexorableness , life or death , must , necessary , needfulness , no alternative , no choice , obligation , pinch , precondition , prerequisite , privation , requirement , requisite , sine qua non , stress , undeniability , urgency , vital part , vitals , want , ground , justification , occasion , reason , wherefore , why , need , exigence , clothing , food , shelter , water