Meaning & use
needy
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Without enough money, food or other basic things to live comfortably.
Grammar: Can be used with the: the needy means poor people as a group.
Patterns
- the needy
- needy families
The charity gives winter coats to needy families.
Volunteers served meals to the needy every Sunday.
Funding was set aside for the neediest students.
adjectivecomparableinformaldisapproving
Wanting a lot of attention, comfort or reassurance from other people, in a way that can feel tiring.
Grammar: Usually critical when describing a person's behavior: a needy friend.
Patterns
- feel needy
- a needy partner
He worried that texting her ten times a day made him seem needy.
The puppy was so needy that it cried whenever she left the room.
Being needy in a new relationship can push people away.
Word forms
| comparative | needier |
|---|---|
| superlative | neediest |
Common combinations
- needy families
- The school provides free lunches for needy families.
- help the needy
- The parish collects donations to help the needy.
- emotionally needy
- She felt emotionally needy after the move.
- needy child
- A needy child often seeks constant hugs.
- seem needy
- I don't want to seem needy by calling again.
Synonyms and how they differ
- poor
- Poor is the plain everyday word for little money, while needy emphasizes lacking essentials and often suggests being a case for help.
- destitute
- Destitute is stronger, meaning almost nothing at all, whereas needy covers a milder shortage.
- clingy
- Clingy describes only emotional dependence and sounds more informal than needy.
- deprived
- Deprived suggests being denied something, often because of circumstances, rather than just lacking it.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: needy or needle?
needy vs needle
A needle is a thin sewing or medical tool, and to needle someone is to annoy them; it is not related to being poor.
Practice
The food bank was set up to support ___ families in the district.
Choose one answer.
Needy families lack basic resources. Needless means unnecessary, greedy means wanting too much, and needle is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “needy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.