English → Latin
“unnecessary” in Latin
supervacāneusabove what is necessary, unnecessary, needless, superfluous, redundantmetusfear, dread, anxiety, apprehension; awe, reverence
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
unnecessary
non necessarius (that need not necessarily be or exist): quod non opus est (not requisite, not necessary for use): supervacaneus (superfluous; ☞ supervacuus and superfluus are neither of them classic): vanus (vain, in vain; e.g., metus.) It is unnecessary to name them, eos nihil attinet nominare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for unnecessary?
- The usual Latin words for “unnecessary” are supervacāneus, metus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.