different between unnecessary vs unnecessarily

English

Etymology

un- +? necessary

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?n?n?.s?.s(?)?? /, /?n?n?.s??s?.??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?n?.s??s?.?i/
• Rhymes: -æri
• (UK, US, nonstandard) IPA^(key): /?n?n?s.?.??/

Adjective

unnecessary (comparative more unnecessary, superlative most unnecessary)

1. Not needed or necessary.

   The automatic child-frightener made clowns unnecessary.
2. Done in addition to requirements; unrequired.

Synonyms

• (not needed): superfluous, unneeded, needless, innecessary
• (in addition to requirements): additional, innecessary

Antonyms

• (not needed): necessary, needed
• (in addition to requirements): required, mandatory

Derived terms

Translations

English

Etymology

unnecessary +? -ly

Adverb

unnecessarily (comparative more unnecessarily, superlative most unnecessarily)

1. In an unnecessary way; not by necessity.

   Synonyms: needlessly, pointlessly, uselessly, for no reason

   He unnecessarily repeated much of what others had covered.

   • c. 1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II, Scene 1,^[1]

     There be […] lords that can prate

     As amply and unnecessarily

     As this Gonzalo;

   • 1753, Samuel Richardson, The History of Sir Charles Grandison, London, Volume 1, Letter 33, p. 235,^[2]

     Pray let not any-body unnecessarily be acquainted with this shocking affair;

   • 1866, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wives and Daughters, London: Smith, Elder, Volume 1, Chapter 10, pp. 113-114,^[3]

     “Wait a moment,” said he, quite unnecessarily, for she could not have stirred;

   • 1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, New York: Macmillan, Chapter 17,^[4]

     […] they made good laws and kept the peace and saved good trees from being unnecessarily cut down,

2. To an extent beyond what is needed.

   Synonym: unduly

   The food provided was unnecessarily generous, especially for an event meant to raise money for the hungry.

   • 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, Volume 2, Book 5, Part 1, pp. 307-308,^[5]

     In the days of their [the Roman armies’] grandeur, when no enemy appeared capable of opposing them, their heavy armour was laid aside as unnecessarily burdensome, their laborious exercises were neglected as unnecessarily toilsome.

   • 1814, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, London: T. Egerton, Volume 1, Chapter 11, p. 245,^[6]

     His absence was unnecessarily long.

   • 2007, Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008, p. 28,^[7]

     […] it seemed that she used his name unnecessarily often,

Antonyms

• necessarily

Related terms

• unnecessary
• necessarily

Translations