Need

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /niːd/

Definitions

1. A requirement or necessity for something essential to survive, function, or achieve a desired outcome
2. A fundamental requirement refers to something that is essential for survival, function, or achieving an objective
3. A basic requirement signifies something crucial for existence, operation, or reaching a specific goal

Etymology: English "need" is a rare case of two unrelated Old English words merging into one. The noun came from "nīed" or "nēd", meaning necessity or compulsion, and its distant ancestor has a grim root: Proto-Indo-European "neh₂w-", meaning "death." The idea was that you were pressed by an urgent force, the way one is pushed toward a fate. The verb came from a different word, "nēodian", meaning to desire or long for, which traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to incline, tend, move, push, nod, or wave." So one strand of the word is about being compelled, and the other about leaning toward something you want. By Middle English these two strands had merged into the single form "nede", and the two senses blurred together. The modern word carries both: a need can be an urgent demand you must meet, or a deep wish for something. That blending is why "need" can mean both "I have to do this" and "I am in want of that."

Synonyms: require, demand, necessitate, want, lack

Antonyms: have, possess, wantlessness, indifference