SPECIAL NEEDS Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

special-needs

adjective

Definition of special-needs

as in disabled

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of special-needs Those organizations then help students access educational opportunities ranging from tutoring and special-needs services to career training, educational technology, dual-enrollment courses and private school tuition where appropriate. — Jeffrey S. Trimbath, Baltimore Sun, 28 June 2026 Reliability becomes even more critical in special-needs transportation environments, where coordination, communication, and timing often carry heightened importance for students, caregivers, and school systems. — Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 2 June 2026 The great thing about Coverdell accounts is that they can be used before college for expenses like private school, tutoring, uniforms, and even special-needs services. — Sarah Scott, Parents, 2 June 2026 One minute, my paintings were going to HSS; the next, to foster homes — no, schools for special-needs kids. — Blake Crisses, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2026 Alejandro was non-verbal and had attended Greater Heights Academy, a West Kendall school for special-needs children. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026 From there, families often consider tools like a special-needs trust. — Bruce Helmer, Twin Cities, 25 Apr. 2026 While the district’s overall student enrollment has declined dramatically in recent years, the special-needs population has actually increased, advocates noted. — Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026 For some seven years, MindShiftED has focused on supporting some of the city’s poorest families, parents of special-needs students and those who speak only Spanish. — Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for special-needs

Adjective

Perhaps unsurprisingly, subsequent attempts at diplomacy, led by the ailing diplomat and intellectual Benjamin Franklin, also proved ineffective.

— Sarah M.S. Pearsall, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Sneed played through an ailing knee injury during his final season in Kansas City, then managed to take the field for only 12 games in two years with the Titans.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026

Definition of ailing

Adjective

Prosecutors, who had sought seven years and seven months in jail, said that the four women accusing him of rape, in both the proven and unproven cases, had each time been too unconscious or too incapacitated to resist him after attending parties.

— Gwladys Fouche, USA Today, 15 June 2026
The spoof comedy parodied 1970s disaster films and followed Hays' character, who must overcome his fear of flying to land a commercial jet when its crew and passengers become incapacitated by food poisoning.

— Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026

Definition of incapacitated

Adjective

Within the context of the ongoing debate, the comment suggested the financial tie could make the company unfit to own the parking meter system.

— Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026
If venue personnel deem any person to be a threat, or otherwise unfit, in their sole discretion, he or she will not be permitted access and shall forfeit the prize.

— AJC.com, AJC.com, 30 June 2026

Definition of unfit

Adjective

Too many products slap the label on without including disabled people anywhere in development or testing, treating accessibility as an add-on rather than a design requirement.

— Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
When scientists temporarily disabled mole-rats’ olfactory sensory neurons with chemicals, the aggression towards strangers disappeared.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026

Definition of disabled

Adjective

Five-year-old Tokyo became unwell and even lost consciousness several hours into a hike up Scotland’s Ben Nevis last Sunday, according to her owner Christina Bluhme.

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 13 July 2026
Just hours before his death, Graham complained of feeling unwell but delayed seeking medical attention, according to a new Axios report.

— Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026

Definition of unwell

Adjective

Amezcua recalled meeting a paraplegic woman with significant health issues who declined hospital care because, in her experience, she was treated briefly and then discharged back to the street.

— Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2026
Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who’s already wealthy, joins not for the money, but to pursue Gyro, a strange man with two strange spinning electric balls that seemingly can give him the ability to walk again.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 27 Mar. 2026

Definition of paraplegic

Adjective

Lake Jesup, one of Central Florida’s largest water bodies, is also one of its sickest.

— Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026
What To Do Now Just washing produce doesn’t typically get rid of cyclospora, so the best way to avoid getting sick is to avoid food that could’ve been contaminated.

— Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 17 July 2026

Definition of sick

Browse Nearby Words

specially

special-needs

specialness

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“Special-needs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/special-needs. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of special-needs

adjective

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