unnecessarily
adverb
un·nec·es·sar·i·ly
ˌən-ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē 
: not by necessity : to an unnecessary degree
unnecessarily harsh criticism
Examples of unnecessarily in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump unquestionably makes everything unnecessarily worse.
—
Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
The parking cost is significant and the rules are extraordinarily and unnecessarily confusing.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
The downtown alderman, a DePaul University finance professor himself, believed the latest debt sale by Johnson’s administration — unnecessarily large, in his view — may have been sized with a parking meter deal in mind.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2026
But the protocols are equally clear that unless such a credible threat exists, officers should never needlessly escalate a confrontational encounter or unnecessarily place themselves in a position of danger from which they would then be compelled to take a life.
—Laurence Miller, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unnecessarily
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
The parking cost is significant and the rules are extraordinarily and unnecessarily confusing.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
The downtown alderman, a DePaul University finance professor himself, believed the latest debt sale by Johnson’s administration — unnecessarily large, in his view — may have been sized with a parking meter deal in mind.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2026
But the protocols are equally clear that unless such a credible threat exists, officers should never needlessly escalate a confrontational encounter or unnecessarily place themselves in a position of danger from which they would then be compelled to take a life.
—Laurence Miller, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unnecessarily
Cite this Entry
“Unnecessarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unnecessarily. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unnecessarily
adverb
un·nec·es·sar·i·ly
ˌən-ˌnes-ə-ˈser-ə-lē
1
: not by necessity
spent money unnecessarily
2
: to an unnecessary degree
an unnecessarily harsh punishment
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
