onnodige

Onnodige is a Dutch adjective meaning unnecessary or superfluous. It describes something that is not required or could be avoided, often implying extra effort, cost, or risk that serves no essential purpose.

Usage and examples: Onnodige is typically placed before a noun to modify it, as in onnodige kosten (unnecessary costs), onnodige stappen (unnecessary steps), or onnodige bureaucratie (unnecessary bureaucracy). The adverbial form is onnodig, used to modify verbs, as in Het was onnodig lang wachten (It was unnecessarily long waiting). The noun onnodigheid refers to the state or quality of being unnecessary.

Nuance and comparisons: Onnodig emphasizes avoidability and lack of necessity, while overbodig more strongly connotes redundancy or surplus beyond what is required. In practice, both terms can appear in similar contexts, but they carry slightly different shades of judgment. Common collocations include onnodige uitgaven (unnecessary expenditures) and onnodige risico’s (unnecessary risks), frequent in economic, political, and journalistic discourse.

Etymology: The word derives from the negating prefix on- paired with nodig (necessary), reflecting its meaning as not necessary.

See also: overbodig, niet nodig, onnodigheid.