1
as in necessary
impossible to do without
all the dreaded, necessitous decisions that one must make when arranging the funeral of a loved one
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
amidst the holiday feasting, merrymaking and spending, it was easy to overlook the necessitous members of the community
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in urgent
needing immediate attention
firmly of the belief that no matter is so necessitous that it cannot be put off until tomorrow
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of necessitous
Exclusive dedication to necessitous employment without interludes of hedonistic diversion renders John a bland young male.
—
Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2021
Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for necessitous
Adjective
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After giving birth to her second child in April, the 32-year-old was determined to continue breastfeeding her son — a choice that was both personally important and financially necessary for her family.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
-
The Federal Aviation Administration says the decision is necessary to keep travelers safe.—
Rio Yamat,
Fortune,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
All the struggling, impoverished Californians who wish their lives were better?—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The flood of people overwhelmed Bajo Chiquito, an impoverished community of 382 members of the Indigenous Emberá-Wounaan people.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Singing this material with players who improvise — solos changing, every version being a little different — taught me about that urgent live-ensemble space where everyone’s living and dying by the next player onstage.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
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This urgent political thriller about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh opened the 2025 Venice International Film Festival before moving on to Telluride, Toronto, New York and London.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
These measures arise as essential staff—particularly air traffic controllers—have been working without paychecks.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Vitamin D receptor genes play an essential role in calcium absorption.—
Trang Tran,
Verywell Health,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The more jihadist terrorists attack and displace civilian populations — who become refugees in their own country — the more poverty, already acute at 60%, rises and religious freedoms are suppressed.—
Kingsley Moghalu,
semafor.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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But Michael has also hit several roadblocks, with the King of Pop's past legal troubles haunting the production and Jackson's daughter, Paris, decrying its depiction of her late father, who died in 2009 from acute propofol intoxication.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Who promises tomorrows to a whole needful planet, restrikes that match?—
Corey Van Landingham,
The New Yorker,
19 June 2023
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They are not found to be such on the injustice and violence of individuals, and lose their efficacy in proportion to the number combined together, that is, in proportion as their efficacy becomes needful.—
James Freeman,
WSJ,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
Cowley graduated in 1920, and for a year and a half lived an adventurous, impecunious Grub Street life in New York, before a fellowship took him, now married, back to France for a master’s in French.—
Michael Gorra,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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Lillian Feldman was born to impecunious Jewish emigres in Cincinnati on July 13, 1927, the twelfth of thirteen children who were encouraged by their mother to draw on the walls.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
17 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Necessitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/necessitous. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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