necessitous

adjective

ni-ˈse-sə-təs How to pronounce necessitous (audio)
Definition of necessitousnext
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

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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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for necessitous
  1. necessary
  2. impoverished
  3. urgent
  4. essential
  5. poor
  6. acute
  7. needful
  8. impecunious
Adjective
  • Permits and city cooperation are necessary when large-scale private events require the use of public space (like street closures) or city services (more cops).
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 10 July 2026
  • Cooper encourages legislators to examine drivers of rising healthcare costs that made things like the ACA subsidies necessary in the first place.
    — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of necessary
Adjective
  • This British drama series follows a woman named Emma over the course of more than six decades of her life, from the 1900s through the 1970s, working her way from impoverished maid to the world’s richest woman.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 July 2026
  • Younger people are more likely to embrace socialism than older voters raised during the Cold War, for whom socialism may conjure images of an impoverished, freedom-less society like the former Communist bloc in Eastern Europe.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of impoverished
Adjective
  • She can now only be reached through a regular phone line — a more costly option in a country where people rely heavily on WhatsApp for calls, messages, photos and urgent coordination.
    — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 10 July 2026
  • Season 3 begins with Captain Garnet (Christie Burke) splitting her crew to answer that urgent distress call, leaving the remaining members behind to defend Homebase 1 from the new planet's unknown secrets.
    — Paul Brett, Space.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of urgent
Adjective
  • The money will finance dozens of routine but essential items, such as a new roof, a 24-seat school bus and outrigger canoes that will be used by military veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress.
    — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 10 July 2026
  • An amazing summer essential and handbag must-have, this refreshing body mist smells like sunshine in a bottle.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
Definition of essential
Adjective
  • Overflowing poor drainage areas in urban areas of northwest Hickory and in the Northlakes area of Caldwell County.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026
  • There was a lot of poor decision-making with this match, on and off the pitch.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of poor
Adjective
  • Reduction In High-Cost, Acute Utilization When therapy is ineffective or inaccessible, families often turn to more acute and costly services, like emergency departments, inpatient behavioral health settings or crisis interventions.
    — Jeff Beck, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
  • Maxton Bowman, 2, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after months of unexplained symptoms.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Definition of acute
Adjective
  • Her voice is slurred, needful, abject.
    — Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 8 May 2026
  • That image of God never has a problem, never has a disease, never lacks anything needful or truly desirable, and has never sinned.
    — Douglas Sytsma, Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
Definition of needful
Adjective
  • Traumatized into silence, the de facto orphan stays living with the kindly but guilt-ridden, grieving and impecunious Hiroshi.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 12 June 2026
  • Since then, it has been performed across much of the world, being ideally suited to these impecunious times and very masterfully written.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
Definition of impecunious

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Cite this Entry

“Necessitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/necessitous. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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