need 
need (nēd)
noun
- necessity or obligation created by some situation no need to worry
- a lack of something useful, required, or desired to have need of a rest
- something useful, required, or desired that is lacking; want; requirement list your daily needs
- a condition in which there is a deficiency of something, or one requiring relief or supply a friend in need
- a condition of poverty, or extreme want
Etymology: ME nede < OE nied, akin to Ger not, Goth nauths < IE *neuti- < base *neu-, to collapse with weariness > Welsh newyn, starvation
transitive verb
to have need of; want or lack; require: need is often used as an auxiliary, either uninflected and followed by an infinitive without to, or inflected and followed by an infinitive with to, meaning “to be obliged, must” he need not come, he needs to be careful
intransitive verb
- Archaic to be necessary; chiefly in impersonal constructions it needs not
- to be in need
have need to
to be compelled or required to; must
if need be
if it is required; if the occasion demands
need
n.
Poverty
Lack
insufficiency, shortage, inadequacy; see lack 1, 2.A requirement
necessity, requirement, requisite, obligation, compulsion, exigency, demand, call, want, essential, necessary, urgency, matter of life and death, desideratum, sine qua non (Latin), must*; see also necessity 1, 2, 3, requirement 2.
need refers to a pressing requirement of something essential or desirable that is lacking; necessity, a more formal word, suggests an imperative need for something indispensable but lacks the emotional connotations of needthey are in need of food, food is a necessity for all living things; exigency refers to a necessity created by some emergency, crisis, or compelling circumstances the exigencies created by the flood; requisite applies to something that is indispensable to a particular end or purpose a sense of rhythm is a requisite in a dancer
have need to
if need be
need
v.
lack, require, feel the necessity for, be in need, suffer privation, be in want, be destitute, be short, be inadequate, have occasion for, feel a dearth, have use for, have need for, miss, be without, do without, be needy, be poor, be bereft, be deprived of, be deficient in, go hungry, not approach, live from hand to mouth, feel the pinch*, be down and out*, be hard up*, be up against it*, do with*; see also want 1.Require
demand, necessitate, oblige; see must, need to. See syn. study at lack.
Infinitive complement
- know: I need to know the address of the proxy to set up my program.
- do: All you need to do is to learn the rules.. .
- get: Now we need to get rid of the pressure.
- consider: You will, of course, need to consider carefully your career options.
- ensure: Two approaches to audit are needed to ensure a thorough review of the system.
Converse of object
- meet: Both colleges share a coordinated approach in their aim to meet the diverse needs of the local learning communities.
- recognize: The Council recognize the need to improve and to ensure core services are maintained and enhanced, while delivering successful, high quality regeneration.
- identify: The social approach is likely to identify future needs whereas other approaches concentrate on improvement in current products.
- highlight: This contrast highlights the need for an effective anthelmintic program to aid the health status of animals.
- eliminate: Mediation does not eliminate the need for your own solicitor.
- feel: He did not feel the need to investigate the complaint any further.
Adjective modifier
- special: The leadership team will need to take into account the Special Needs of any members of the Unit.
- educational: That includes children with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language.
- individual: Being able to include their products in our offering means we can provide the best pick and mix solution to match individual client needs.
- desperate: The formatting is in desperate need of a makeover.
- unmet: In addition, we have a strong and varied pipeline of potential products in areas where there is clearly an unmet clinical need.
- particular: Face up to yourself and your particular needs, knowing that God will deal with these if you give him time and room.
Object
- help: You can then decide whether something is serious enough to need medical help.
- assistance: If after reading our information you feel you need immediate assistance in helping choose the.. .
Noun used with modifier
- housing: But the problem of housing need is even more extensive.
Fallen from his high estate, And welt'ring in his blood: Deserted at his utmost need By those his former bounty fed; On the bare earth expos'd he lies, With not a friend to close his eyes.
The face of 'evil' is always the face of total need.
My God shall supplyall yourneedaccording tohisriches in glory by Christ Jesus.
May the hard hand of a vexatious need Oppress and grind you; till at last you find The curse of disobedience all your portion.
L'homme se trouve devant l'irrationnel. Il sent en lui son de¤ s ir de bonheur et de raison. L'absurde na|"t de cette confrontation entre l'appel humain et le silence de¤ raisonnable du monde. Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.
The gap between brute power and human need continues to grow, as the power fattens on the same faulty technology that intensifies the need.
Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide. In thy most need to go by thy side.
Lord, forgive me if my need Sometimes shapes a human creed.
BRADYISM: A multisibling sensibility derived from having grown up in large familiessymptoms of Bradyism include a facility for mind games, emotional withdrawal in situations of overcrowding, and a deeply felt need for a well-defined personal space.
Down for a new radio, to Ross Lake, and back up. Three days walking. Strange how unmoved this place leaves one; neither articulate or worshipful; rather the pressing need to look within and adjust the mechanism of perception.
He isgone on the mountain, He is lost to the forest, Like a summer-dried fountain, When our need was the sorest.
Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm sixty four?
The good want power, but to weep barren tears. The powerful goodness want: worse need for them. The wise want love; and those who love want wisdom.
Browse dictionary entries near need
- ‹ nee
- ‹ Nederland
- ‹ Ned
- ‹ nectary
- ‹ nectarine
- ‹ nectar
- ‹ necrotomy
- ‹ necrotizing
- ‹ necrosis
- ‹ necropsy
- need to ›
- needed ›
- needful ›
- neediness ›
- needle ›
- needle valve ›
- needlefish ›
- needlepoint ›
- needless ›
- needlewoman ›
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