needless to say

adverb

Clearly, obviously.

“Having won the championship, he is, needless to say, a very happy man.”

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Meanings

adverbneedless to say (not comparable)
  1. idiomaticnot comparableClearly, obviously.

    Having won the championship, he is, needless to say, a very happy man.

    1 more example

    Some time ago I was on the footplate of an engine fresh from the shops after overhaul, and the combined efforts of driver and fireman were needed to open and close the regulator. Needless to say, the men were not in a very happy frame of mind."

    1951 September, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 623

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
it goes without saying

Translations

Bulgarian разбира се
  • разбира се (razbira se)obviously
Chinese Mandarin 不言而喻, 不待說 /不待说
  • 不言而喻 (bùyán'éryù)obviously
  • 不待說 /不待说 (bùdàishuō)obviously
Finnish sanomattakin selvästi, silmin nähden
  • sanomattakin selvästiobviously
  • silmin nähdenobviously
  • ilmiselvästiobviously
  • sanomattakin lienee selvääobviously
French cela va sans dire, inutile de dire que
  • cela va sans direobviously
  • inutile de dire queobviously
  • autant dire queobviously
German selbstredend, selbstverständlich
  • selbstredendobviously
  • selbstverständlichobviously
  • ohne Frageobviously
  • ohne Zweifelobviously
  • zweifellosobviously
  • überflüssig zu erwähnenobviously
  • unnötig zu erwähnenobviously
Hungarian mondanom se kell
  • mondanom se kellobviously
Italian inutile a dirsi
  • inutile a dirsiobviously
Japanese 言うまでもない
  • 言うまでもない (iu made mo nai)obviously
Norwegian selvsagt, selvfølgelig
  • selvsagtobviously
  • selvfølgeligobviously
Polish rzecz jasna, jasna rzecz
  • rzecz jasnaobviously
  • jasna rzeczobviously
  • wiadomoobviously
Russian само́ собо́й разуме́ется
  • само́ собо́й разуме́ется (samó sobój razuméjetsja)obviously
Spanish sobreentendidamente, subentendidamente
  • sobreentendidamenteobviously
  • subentendidamenteobviously
Cite this entry
APA

needless to say. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/needless%20to%20say

MLA

“needless to say.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/needless%20to%20say. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “needless to say,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/needless%20to%20say.

Source: needless to say on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.