NECESSARY, a. 1. That must be; that cannot be otherwise; indispensably requisite. It is necessary that every effect should have a cause.2. Indispensable; requisite; essential; that cannot be otherwise without preventing the purpose intended. Air is necessary to support animal life; food is necessary to nourish the body; holiness is a necessary qualification for happiness; health is necessary to the enjoyment of pleasure; subjection to law is necessary to the safety of persons and property.3. Unavoidable; as a necessary inference or consequence from facts or arguments.4. Acting from necessity or compulsion; opposed to free. Whether man is a necessary or a free agent is a question much discussed.NECESSARY, n. A privy.
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