NEEDY Synonyms: 64 Similar and Opposite Words

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

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of needy This year, owing to a mixup in the congressional budget, one of the government’s most important scholarships was left severely underfunded, depriving thousands of Peru’s neediest high-school graduates of the opportunity to continue their studies at local universities. —

Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026 Lawmakers need to find ways to raise additional, sustainable revenue over the long term to avoid past budget missteps and support the state’s neediest residents, Martwick said. —

Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2026 But needy, possessive Nikki smothers Bear, and what plays out is a horrifying tale of obsessive love gone wrong — sour, curdled and violent. —

Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026 Jimmy is immediately struck by this younger, virile, needier man when Vincent asks him to help move a piece of furniture in. —

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for needy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for needy

Adjective

Among the Cambodians to exploit the instability was Toek Tik, a once-impoverished former Khmer Rouge foot soldier whose confessions helped investigators substantiate some of their claims against Latchford.

— Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 17 June 2026
And the people who got trapped behind—and who are now the impoverished mass of the remaining Cuban population—are the descendants of the slave population, or those who intermarried with the slave population.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026