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

If an earlier agreement needs revisiting, explain the change clearly. — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2026

Asian tech companies, which play an integral role in the global electronics supply chain, have been buoyed by insatiable demand for components such as semiconductor chips needed to build massive AI data centers. — Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2026

Noun

The sell-off in artificial intelligence winners underscores the need to own defensive stocks like Kimberly-Clark. — Jeff Marks,kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026

The election came as Elk Grove Unified, California’s fourth-largest school district, worked to address budget pressures, chronic absenteeism and the needs of its roughly 64,000 students. — Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026