neediness

[ nee-dee-nis ]

noun

1. a condition of want or need; poverty; indigence.

neediness

/ ˈniːdɪnɪs /

noun

1. the state of being needy; poverty

Word History and Origins

Origin of neediness¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, neediness is from the Middle English word nedynes. See needy, -ness

Example Sentences

No longer just breaking stuff for no good reason, they were now pleading for our understanding—sometimes, as in Phillips’ Joker, with the cloying neediness of a thrift-store clown painting.

From Time

During the exhausting 1992 campaign I was asked if Clinton got tired of the crowds: their neediness, their wide-eyed lunging.

From The Daily Beast

Each performance had its set of demands—a lightness in one, an unlikely neediness in another.

From The Daily Beast

This emotional neediness was brilliantly parodied in the Austin Powers films with Dr. Evil.

From The Daily Beast

But in our day it is necessity, neediness, that prevails, and lends a degraded humanity under its iron yoke.

From Project Gutenberg

After a short experience of three weeks Comte returned to neediness and contentment.

From Project Gutenberg

But everywhere the ill-assorted marriage of pretentiousness and neediness was apparent.

From Project Gutenberg