Needy

How to spell needy

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce needy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does needy mean?

1. adjectiveLacking money or the basic means of life; very poor.
2. adjectiveDemanding constant attention, affection, or reassurance from others.

Needy in a sentence

• The charity collects winter coats for needy families in the city.

• The new puppy was so needy that it whined whenever it was left alone.

• The fund was set up to support needy students who cannot afford textbooks.

• He became needy after the breakup, calling his friends several times a day.

Where does needy come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the native Old English noun nēd, also spelled nied, which meant 'necessity', 'compulsion', or 'a state of want', and which itself traces back to a Germanic root shared with the Dutch nood and German Not, both meaning 'distress' or 'need'. By adding the common adjective suffix -y, English produced an adjective meaning 'full of need', and the form needig is recorded in Old English well before the Norman Conquest. For most of its history the word described people living in poverty, those who lacked the basic means of life. The modern emotional sense, describing a person who craves constant attention or reassurance, is a much later development that became common only in the twentieth century. The spelling is helped by remembering the plain word 'need' sitting inside it, with the final 'd' kept intact before the suffix.

How the word is built

• need (from Old English nēd/nied: necessity, want)
• -y (adjective suffix forming 'characterised by')