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

Stephane Boujnah, the head of Euronext, which runs the Paris stock market, said Paris needed to make tough choices urgently. — Makini Brice, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026

In her view, producers need to keep their IP and trade it directly. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026

Noun

Mud is a dynamic if uneven vehicle for Wolf, a vocalist with a showman’s need for climax. — Enzo Escober, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026

Alvamar’s superintendent, Mel Anderson, introduced GCSAA leaders to Lawrence real estate developer Bob Billings, who owned more than 3,000 acres in western Lawrence and found space to meet the association’s needs. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026