necessitous

American  

[nuh-ses-i-tuhs] / nəˈsɛs ɪ təs /

adjective

1. destitute or impoverished; needy; indigent.

   to aid a necessitous young mother.

2. being essential or unavoidable.

   a necessitous discharge of responsibilities.

3. requiring immediate attention or action; urgent.

   the necessitous demands of the oil shortage.

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necessitous British  

/ nɪˈsɛsɪtəs /

adjective

1. very needy; destitute; poverty-stricken

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Other Word Forms

• necessitously adverb
• necessitousness noun
• nonnecessitous adjective
• nonnecessitously adverb
• nonnecessitousness noun
• unnecessitous adjective
• unnecessitously adverb
• unnecessitousness noun

Etymology

Origin of necessitous

First recorded in 1605–15; necessit(y) + -ous

Example Sentences

Back in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt, in his inaugural address, pointed out that "a necessitous man is not a free man."

From Salon

“If you just can’t get ‘necessitous’ out, and the author’s happy with it, you can go for ‘needy’.”

From The Guardian

Fired workers can collect unemployment, but the court says those who quit don’t get compensation unless they have a “necessitous and compelling” reason for leaving the job.

From Seattle Times

“The first lady’s initiative, ‘Let Girls Learn’ is a fantastic one, and it’s a necessitous one, and this film absolutely speaks to that, ” he says.

From Washington Post

In his Georgetown speech, Sanders went on to quote Roosevelt’s 1944 state of the union address, and the line “necessitous men are not free men”.

From The Guardian