necessity (n.)

  1. the condition of being essential or indispensable

  2. anything indispensable; food and shelter are necessities of life; the essentials of the good life; allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions; a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained

    [ Syn: essential , requirement , requisite , necessary ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
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