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

If Freeling were to win the left tackle job for Week 1, the Panthers could consider trading Walker to a tackle-needy team with Christensen available for depth behind the rookie. — Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 17 July 2026

Operated by New Hope CORPS, the former hotel provides housing and social services to needy seniors. — Miami Herald, 1 July 2026

The oldest, a daughter, has always been needy and played the victim. — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 1 July 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