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need 1 of 2

verb

Definition of neednext
1
as in to require
to have as a requirement a national crisis that needs a strong leader to solve it

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2
as in to must
to be under necessity or obligation to you need not stand when she enters the room

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need

2 of 2

noun

ˈnēd How to pronounce need (audio)
1
as in lack
a state of being without something necessary, desirable, or useful when it came time to wrap the presents, he found he was in need of adhesive tape

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in must
something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable got a job that barely provided for his basic needs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in obligation
something one must do because of prior agreement no need to apologize

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions donating money to help those in need

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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 need
Verb
Someone with mild recession around the temples may need far fewer grafts than a patient with thinning across the front, mid-scalp and crown. — Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 After the Red Sox swept the doubleheader Friday, the Cubs need help to host the wild-card series at Wrigley Field. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
Use the following four-part framework to customize your warm-ups to best meet your needs. — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026 Start with a real project to see whether the research-to-content workflow fits your needs. — New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for need
Recent Examples of Synonyms for need
  1. require
  2. must
  3. lack
  4. requirement
  5. obligation
  6. poverty
  7. want
  8. necessity
Verb
  • The role required Cruise to transform with prosthetics (including a fat suit and thinning white hair) and a put-on Southern accent, but, mostly, the absurdist satire demanded his full acting range.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The challenge required teams to transport as much weight as possible over the four-nautical-mile course.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of require
Verb
  • The block party is free, but people who want to attend must RSVP.
    — Chantelle Lee, Time, 30 Dec. 2025
Definition of must
Noun
  • Bass is particularly concerned by the relative lack of specialized intervention training for patrol officers who respond to the vast majority of service calls.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
  • An absent father—mourning a mother—a startling lack of siblings but a plethora of cousins—exile from her community.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of lack
Noun
  • Repeating that process places significant stress on components, increasing operational and capital costs due to the risk of failure, maintenance requirements and downtime.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026
  • In some states, parents are winning time requirements on daily recess.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of requirement
Noun
  • Conversely, the players’ obligations remain individual, unfinanced and absorbed across 1,200 separate household clocks.
    — Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • And even with an involved father, mothers continue to carry the invisible mental load of the family, an unseen burden of data, obligations and preemptive planning tasks.
    — Megan Kuykendoll, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of obligation
Noun
  • Much of the area is marked by poverty and residents routinely complain they are left to fend for themselves during natural disasters.
    — MEGAN JANETSKY, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Economy Minister Luis Caputo acknowledged Thursday’s increase on social media but emphasized that poverty remained far below the levels recorded during Milei’s first months in office.
    — Débora Rey, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of poverty
Verb
  • One room of it has recently been converted into a studio of sorts for her partner Mehmet (Metin Akdülger), an experimental musician who is as likely to want to record the sound of a malfunctioning kitchen appliance as to fix it.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Parliament has 30 days to ratify the measures, and the government wants to expedite the process, calling for an extraordinary plenary session on housing for Friday.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of want
Noun
  • Researchers said housing affordability is being made worse due to mounting economic pressures and the rising costs of everyday necessities.
    — Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Many of these frequent 911 users are unhoused people with physical health, mental health and substance use issues who lack access to care and frequent emergency rooms for treatment — or sometimes just basic necessities or shelter.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of necessity

Browse Nearby Words

nectars
need
needed
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Cite this Entry

“Need.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/need. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on need

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about need

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