unnecessarily
adverb
un·nec·es·sar·i·ly ˌən-ˌne-sə-ˈser-ə-lē 
: not by necessity : to an unnecessary degree
unnecessarily harsh criticism
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Now, the back slap was uncalled for, the language unnecessarily profane. 
Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, 28 June 2022 His lawsuit says Bottoms made the decision to fire him and claims the termination was conducted in an unnecessarily public manner and that Bottoms violated her oath of office by getting involved. Jozsef Papp, ajc, 11 June 2022 Recently, social media posts have alleged that wind power is inefficient and unnecessarily expensive. Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY, 7 June 2022 The 2015 game featured a quarterback situation that the Buckeyes made unnecessarily complicated, and the result was a close game. Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 1 June 2022 In the professional setting, this can look like unnecessarily harsh tones or commentary in emails. Kwame Christian, Forbes, 27 Apr. 2022 In the past, delaying inevitable change has led to transformations that are unnecessarily harsh, such as the collapse of some 13th-century civilizations in what is now the U.S. Southwest. Elisabeth Gilmore, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2022 At the White House, John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, criticized the Chinese drills and blamed Beijing for escalating tensions unnecessarily. Wenxin Fan, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 That is why critics contend the imposition of new PFAS regulations based on the controversial EPA advisories released in June will unnecessarily harm many key sectors of the economy, particularly the defense and semi-conductor industries. Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 See More
Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, 28 June 2022 His lawsuit says Bottoms made the decision to fire him and claims the termination was conducted in an unnecessarily public manner and that Bottoms violated her oath of office by getting involved. Jozsef Papp, ajc, 11 June 2022 Recently, social media posts have alleged that wind power is inefficient and unnecessarily expensive. Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY, 7 June 2022 The 2015 game featured a quarterback situation that the Buckeyes made unnecessarily complicated, and the result was a close game. Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 1 June 2022 In the professional setting, this can look like unnecessarily harsh tones or commentary in emails. Kwame Christian, Forbes, 27 Apr. 2022 In the past, delaying inevitable change has led to transformations that are unnecessarily harsh, such as the collapse of some 13th-century civilizations in what is now the U.S. Southwest. Elisabeth Gilmore, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2022 At the White House, John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, criticized the Chinese drills and blamed Beijing for escalating tensions unnecessarily. Wenxin Fan, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 That is why critics contend the imposition of new PFAS regulations based on the controversial EPA advisories released in June will unnecessarily harm many key sectors of the economy, particularly the defense and semi-conductor industries. Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1565, in the meaning defined above