unnecessary
/ʌnˈnɛs.əˌsɛɹ.i/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.18 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Done in addition to requirements; unrequired.
Example Sentences
- "The automatic child-frightener made clowns unnecessary."
- "Every possible economy was carefully investigated and unnecessary expense, however small, eliminated. The company had no money to spare on "frills.""
- "Robins, of Torquay, had denied a single charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She claimed the microwave was accidentally turned on by one of the cats after the kitten got inside. But Knutton said the kitten was too small to even get onto the work surface."
- "Yet some of the statin side effects mentioned in the study have not been proved in the scientific literature or are exaggerated and could cause unnecessary worry, he said."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English necessary English unnecessary From un- + necessary.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʌnˈnɛs.əˌsɛɹ.i/
- British English: /ʌnˈnɛs.ə.s(ə)ɹɪ/
Inflected Forms
more unnecessary (comparative)
most unnecessary (superlative)