The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - needv.

1) require, demand, want, be in want of, call for, have need of or for; lack, miss, have occasion for: This room needs a coat of paint. Although she may want more money, she doesn't need it. Do you need anything to make you more comfortable? --n. 2) necessity, requirement; call, demand, constraint: There's no need to shout - I can hear you. There is a need to keep this matter confidential. This facility will meet our electricity needs for decades. 3) essential, necessary, requisite, prerequisite, necessity, basic, fundamental, sine qua non, necessary, desideratum: I am perfectly capable of taking care of my family's needs. 4) distress, difficulty, trouble, (dire or desperate) straits, stress, emergency, exigency, extremity, neediness, needfulness; poverty, penury, impecuniousness, destitution, privation, deprivation, indigence, beggary: She was very supportive in his hour of need. The need of the people in that district is heart-rending. 5) want, lack, dearth, shortage, paucity, scarcity, insufficiency, desideratum: The need for medical supplies was most sharply felt in areas that were already ravaged by famine.