Phrase guide

doctrine of necessity

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Necessarianism, especially as espoused by Joseph Priestley.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: metaphysics

Topics: human-sciences, lifestyle, philosophy, religion, sciences, theology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A principle whereby a normally criminal act is justified by the necessity of preserving something of greater utilitarian value than that lost or sacrificed; not to be confused with self-defence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: law

Examples

  • 1995, Bryan A. Garner, necessity, entry in A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, page 583, The doctrine of necessity might lead a court to approve a doctor′s decision to perform an illegal, third-trimester abortion in order to save the mother′s life.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The principle that, in a situation of emergency or exigent circumstance, a state may legitimately act in ways that would normally be illegal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, law, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The principle that the laws, of governance in action, should be deemed valid insofar as they do not contradict the constitution. Validated on the basis that maintenance of government is of greater utilitarian value than maintenance of the law.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, law, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The principle that a state in immediate peril to its existence, from a situation not of its own doing, may in extremis be justified in violating a right of another state.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: international law

Topics: government, politics

Examples

  • 1991, Eduardo Jiménez de Aréchaga, Attila Tanzi, Chapter 17: International State Responsibility, Mohammed Bedjaoui (editor), International Law: Achievements and Prospects, UNESCO, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, page 354, The enumeration of situations where the doctrine of necessity has been invoked forms either a catalogue of serious breaches of international law or of cases susceptible of being explained without an appeal to the doctrine of necessity.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Polish: zasada konieczności — law: justified normally criminal act
  • Polish: zasada konieczności — politics, law: principle that the state may legitimately act illegally
  • Polish: zasada konieczności — politics, law: laws deemed valid when not contradicting the constitution
  • Polish: zasada konieczności — politics, international law: state in peril is justified in violating another state