Synonyms of needy

needy

adjective

ˈnē-dē 

as in impoverished

lacking money or material possessions

those generous souls who regularly give money and donate clothes to help the needy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impoverished
• poor
• broke
• indigent
• destitute
• needful
• impecunious
• beggared
• deprived
• necessitous
• famished
• bankrupt
• penniless
• down-and-out
• penurious
• poverty-stricken
• dirt-poor
• depressed
• pauperized
• beggarly
• disadvantaged
• hard up
• underprivileged
• out of pocket
• bankrupted
• threadbare
• out at elbows
• skint
• distressed
• dispossessed
• down on one's luck
• ruined
• unaffluent
• insolvent
• bust
• pinched
• reduced
• cash-strapped
• short
• straitened
• poorish
• possessionless
• hardscrabble
• hand-to-mouth
• low
• tapped out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealthy
• rich
• affluent
• well-to-do
• moneyed
• fat
• opulent
• flush
• well-off
• comfortable
• prosperous
• well-heeled
• fat-cat
• deep-pocketed
• silk-stocking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of needy

The center-needy Lakers would love to have Duren, while a sign-and-trade that would send Duren to Boston and Brown to the Pistons is a popular rumor. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026

Money given directly to needy mothers and children is overwhelmingly spent to cover necessary goods or services, according to Chastity Lord, president and chief executive of the Jeremiah Program, which works to improve economic mobility for single mothers. — ABC News, 19 June 2026

But the agents were needy from the start. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026

As one of the most prominent unrestricted free agents on the board, Reaves could command an over-the-top max offer from a talent-needy rival such as the Brooklyn Nets. — John Hollinger, New York Times, 17 June 2026