Synonyms of need

need 1 of 2

verb

1

as in to require

to have as a requirement

a national crisis that needs a strong leader to solve it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• require
• want
• take
• demand
• necessitate
• involve
• challenge
• claim
• call for
• warrant
• ask
• entail
• bear
• beg
• lack
• insist
• cry (for)
• hurt (for)
• stipulate
• exact
• quest
• enjoin
• clamor (for)
• press
• command

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• have
• hold
• possess
• own

2

as in to must

to be under necessity or obligation to

you need not stand when she enters the room

Synonyms & Similar Words

• must
• should
• shall
• have (to)
• will
• ought (to)

need

2 of 2

noun

ˈnēd 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lack
• needfulness
• absence
• shortage
• want
• deficiency
• requirement
• deficit
• necessity
• scarcity
• insufficiency
• paucity
• defect
• essential
• inadequacy
• demand
• poverty
• requisite
• minus
• deprivation
• dearth
• privation
• scantiness
• scarceness
• skimpiness
• meagerness
• famishment

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• supply
• sufficiency
• adequacy
• fund
• stock
• enough
• plenty
• pool
• excess
• surplus
• fill
• stockpile
• surfeit
• overabundance
• oversupply
• hoard

2

as in must

something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable

got a job that barely provided for his basic needs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• must
• requirement
• necessity
• necessary
• essential
• requisite
• demand
• needful
• must-have
• sine qua non
• condition
• prerequisite
• advantage
• wish
• precondition
• plus
• desideratum
• edge
• desideration

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extra
• surplus
• comfort
• luxury
• nonessential
• nonnecessity
• indulgence
• extravagance
• frill
• surplusage
• superfluity
• amenity

3

as in obligation

something one must do because of prior agreement

no need to apologize

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obligation
• responsibility
• duty
• promise
• commitment
• vow
• do
• burden
• requirement
• imperative
• office
• pledge
• constraint
• must
• charge
• pact
• devoir
• trust
• incumbency
• payment
• setup
• contract
• word
• oath
• arrangement
• compulsion
• tribute
• debt
• compact
• covenant
• restraint
• force
• reservation
• coercion
• prearrangement
• duress
• troth
• appointment
• engagement
• onus

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stay
• relief
• grace
• ease
• release
• exemption
• discharge
• waiver
• choice
• option
• postponement
• alternative
• preference
• selection
• loophole
• pick

4

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions

donating money to help those in need

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poverty
• necessity
• misery
• want
• neediness
• impoverishment
• poorness
• pauperism
• penury
• indigence
• beggary
• destitution
• deprivation
• impecuniousness
• destituteness
• impecuniosity
• emergency
• bankruptcy
• penuriousness
• exigency
• woe
• gutter
• rainy day
• privation
• wretchedness
• insolvency
• pinching
• austerity
• belt-tightening
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealth
• richness
• affluence
• opulence
• luxury
• prosperity
• wealthiness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of need

Verb

Seniors need clear assurances that their prescriptions will remain available, their delivery options will continue, and their care will not be interrupted. — L. Prather McKinnon, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026

Smokability The smokability of a paper is its ability to stay lit without needing frequent relighting. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026

Noun

Which would explain why the EU has been making noise recently about the need to finally find its own representative to negotiate with Russia. — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 29 Oct. 2026

That sparked an immediate backlash from unions, which stressed the need for a full investigation, and that one train controller should not be used as a scapegoat for wider systemic problems. — Vasco Cotovio, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026