needy
/ˈniːdi/
needy adjective: in need; poor.
Adjective
needy (comparative needier, superlative neediest)
- In need; poor.
- Needy people want to give too, but have few material goods to offer.
- Such monitoring has often been a sticking point in the past, amid fears that food aid might be diverted to the Northern elite - or its military - rather than the needy.2012 February 29, Aidan Foster-Carter, “North Korea: The denuclearisation dance resumes”, in BBC News
- Desiring constant affirmation; lacking self-confidence.
- Near-synonym: clingy
- It's emotionally exhausting to be around her because she's so needy.
- Synonyms:
- clingy
- Needful; necessary.
- It is the measure of things, and their time (that is, their measure, as to space and time), and yet it is above, and prior to, time: it is full in needy things, and overflows in full things; it is unutterable, innominable: it is above understanding […]1861, Isaak August Dorner, Patrick Fairbairn, History of the development of the doctrine of the person of Christ
needy meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
needy in Hindi
- needy, wanting
- मोहताज mohtāj
- needy, seeking something
- अर्थी arthī
needy in Tamil
- ஏழ்மையான, தேவையுள்ள, வறிய
needy in Urdu
- needy
- دین dīn
needy in Bengali
- needy; poor; indigent
- মুহতাজ muhotaj
- needy; poor; indigent; miserable; wretched; humble
- মিসকিন miśokin
More languagesFewer languages
- needy in Malayalam
- വളരെ ദരിദ്രമായ, നിർദ്ധനനായ, ആവശ്യമുളള
- needy in Kannada
- ಬಡವನಾದ, ಬಡತನದಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ, ದಾರಿದ್ರ್ಯದ, ಗತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ
- needy in Punjabi
- ਲੋਡ਼ਵੰਦ
- needy in Gujarati
- જરૂરિયાતમંદ, જરૂરિયાતમંદો
- needy in Odia
- ଅଭାବୀ, ଅଭାବୀମାନେ
Examples of needy in a sentence
- The school's cast iron policy on admissions fees left no leeway for needy students.
- Kangaroos on the other hand become even more sooky (needy for attention), when denied time outside.
- Here, up in the north of China, is a great needy mission field.
Synonyms of needy
Antonyms
Forms of needy
| comparative | needier |
|---|---|
| superlative | neediest |
Origin of needy
From Middle English nedy, nedi (“necessitous”), from Old English nēdiġ, *nīediġ ("of need, obligated, compelled"; found in the derivative nīediġnes (“obligation”)), from Proto-Germanic *naudigaz (“of need, forced, compelled”), equivalent to need + -y. Cognate with Scots nedy, neidy (“needy, necessitous, impoverished”), Saterland Frisian niedich (“miserable, poor, wretched, needy”), Saterland Frisian nöödich (“necessary, needful”), West Frisian nedich (“needful, needed”), Dutch nodig (“necessary”), Middle Low German nōdich (“necessary, urgent, by requirement”), German nötig (“necessary, needful”), Danish nødig (“necessary”), Swedish nödig (“necessary”), Icelandic nauðugur (“constrained”).
Words formed from needy
Phrases with needy
Words that rhyme with needy
Questions about needy
- What does needy mean?
- Needy means in need; poor.
- What is needy in Hindi?
- Needy in Hindi is मोहताज (mohtāj), अर्थी (arthī). See Needy meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is needy?
- Needy is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce needy?
- Needy is pronounced /ˈniːdi/.
Words near needy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: needy (page history and authors); अर्थी (Hindi) (page history and authors); needy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); دین (Urdu) (page history and authors); মিসকিন (Bengali) (page history and authors); needy (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); needy (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); needy (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); needy (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); needy (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-needy.ogg.
Cite this entry: “needy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/needy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.