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
Other women said the school failed to appropriately respond to their Title IX complaints against students, in some cases unnecessarily delaying the investigation.
—
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
In a bombshell report examining ShotSpotter data in Chicago, researchers found the technology often unnecessarily deployed officers to these areas for incidents that turned up no crime.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Mar. 2024
Mid-grade fuel accounts for about seven percent of all gasoline sales, which means probably five or six percent of gasoline sales were unnecessarily upcharged.
—Logan Carter / Jalopnik, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
Advocates for the approach say American oncology leaders are dragging their feet unnecessarily, and harming people in the process.
—Arthur Allen | Kff Health News, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
But opponents argue blanket exceptions would unnecessarily extend to numerous big-selling treatments for common conditions that — thanks to regulatory endorsements — also happen to have an orphan designation.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 21 Mar. 2024
During Blau’s tenure, the state attorney general had investigated Integral, ultimately accusing it in 2015 of improperly loaning its executives hundreds of thousands of dollars while wards sat unnecessarily in nursing homes.
—Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 12 Mar. 2024
People trying to bypass Baltimore will be inconvenienced, and people who live there will be unnecessarily burdened, but there will also be workarounds and adaptation.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
Mold tests mainly serve to unnecessarily frighten the home’s occupants with disembodied meaningless spore counts.
—Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2024
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
In a bombshell report examining ShotSpotter data in Chicago, researchers found the technology often unnecessarily deployed officers to these areas for incidents that turned up no crime.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Mar. 2024
Mid-grade fuel accounts for about seven percent of all gasoline sales, which means probably five or six percent of gasoline sales were unnecessarily upcharged.
—Logan Carter / Jalopnik, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
Advocates for the approach say American oncology leaders are dragging their feet unnecessarily, and harming people in the process.
—Arthur Allen | Kff Health News, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
But opponents argue blanket exceptions would unnecessarily extend to numerous big-selling treatments for common conditions that — thanks to regulatory endorsements — also happen to have an orphan designation.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 21 Mar. 2024
During Blau’s tenure, the state attorney general had investigated Integral, ultimately accusing it in 2015 of improperly loaning its executives hundreds of thousands of dollars while wards sat unnecessarily in nursing homes.
—Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 12 Mar. 2024
People trying to bypass Baltimore will be inconvenienced, and people who live there will be unnecessarily burdened, but there will also be workarounds and adaptation.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
Mold tests mainly serve to unnecessarily frighten the home’s occupants with disembodied meaningless spore counts.
—Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unnecessarily.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near unnecessarily
Cite this Entry
“Unnecessarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unnecessarily. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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
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