need 1 of 2

verb

Definition of neednext
1
as in to require
to have as a requirement a national crisis that needs a strong leader to solve it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to must
to be under necessity or obligation to you need not stand when she enters the room

Synonyms & Similar Words

need

2 of 2

noun

ˈnēd How to pronounce need (audio)
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in must
something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable got a job that barely provided for his basic needs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in obligation
something one must do because of prior agreement no need to apologize

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions donating money to help those in need

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 need
Verb
Apple needs significant upload capacty include the volume of shipping required to bring the iPhones to market. — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Goyke, who is the mayor of nearby Rosalia, said Malden’s residents have been told to conserve water so it can be saved for fire trucks if needed, and Malden’s fire department has been trucking water from Rosalia. — Jamie Stengle, Chicago Tribune, 10 Aug. 2026
Noun
Sherwood, who moved back into her childhood home in 2009 to care for her mother, said her mom took out a reverse mortgage on her ranch-style New Jersey house years ago, to help pay for her medical needs. — Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026 Yet, despite trends such as fibermaxxing and a growing awareness of its importance, up to 95 percent of Americans aren’t meeting their fiber needs. — Audrey Bruno, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for need
Recent Examples of Synonyms for need
  1. require
  2. must
  3. lack
  4. requirement
  5. obligation
  6. poverty
  7. want
  8. necessity
Verb
  • No distributions were ever made by the Children's Trust to any of its beneficiaries, and the beneficial shares of that trust were not divided into separate shares for each of the beneficiaries as was also required by the 2020 amendment.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Students at Sacramento New Technology Early College High School are required to take college courses before earning their high school diploma, a model school leaders say is unique in California.
    — James Taylor, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of require
Verb
  • The block party is free, but people who want to attend must RSVP.
    — Chantelle Lee, Time, 30 Dec. 2025
Definition of must
Noun
  • Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister both dipped in physicality last season, leading to Liverpool’s back four suffering from a lack of protection at points.
    — Graham Ruthven, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Human intuition remains indispensable for true discovery, a capability current AI systems lack, according to Google DeepMind's Tom Zahavy.
    — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of lack
Noun
  • This latter requirement is contingent on very strong or extreme geomagnetic activity.
    — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • State media published the list of requirements from Zolghadr, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
    — Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of requirement
Noun
  • According to a stadium lease between the city and the Public Building Authority signed in 2009, the city had authorized issuing $12 million in short-term financing obligations to build Dickey-Stephens Park, which opened in 2007.
    — Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 6 Aug. 2026
  • One thing seems certain — any Chinese citizen with this type of account needs to be paying attention to their obligations, and the sooner the better, to avoid falling afoul of the new mandate.
    — Anniek Bao,Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of obligation
Noun
  • But even as India opened its doors to foreign investment in the 1990s, igniting a middle-class boom, the country carried the stigma of poverty.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
  • But high turnover limited the program's reach, and no teaching corps—however committed—could erase the effects of poverty, housing instability, or unequal access to opportunity.
    — Sonia Murrow, Time, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of poverty
Verb
  • Williams also wanted to understand the agreement between the property owner and residents to help find suitable housing.
    — Emily McLeod, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • But the agency wants to make sure that an applicant has nearby transit options, Chandler said.
    — Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of want
Noun
  • The high state of prices at retail and for necessities remains one of the most pivotal factors impacting consumers’ views of the economy, the U-M study showed.
    — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • This is partly out of necessity, as nonprofits, more than any other sector, need to be constantly responsive to the shifting winds of community need and donor focus.
    — Max Simkoff, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of necessity

Browse Nearby Words

nectars
need
needed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Need.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/need. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on need

Nglish: Translation of need for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about need

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All