needy

Meaning

1. In need; poor.
2. Desiring constant affirmation; lacking self-confidence.
3. Needful; necessary.

Synonyms

poor

indigent

necessitous

destitute

impoverished

penniless

in need

poverty-stricken

miserable

destitude

broke

impecunious

pauper

helpless

hollow

very poor

deprived

inadequate

dependent

insecure

insolvent

landless

deficient

broken

needful

orphaned

not wealthy

beggars

beggar

barren

resourceless

run out of

scanty

sterile

straitened

unsafe

vacant

void

wanting

bare

poor people

poor person

bankrupt

empty

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈniːdi/

Etymology

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”).