needs
/nidz/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.37 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
Either directly or indirectly preceded or followed by an auxiliary verb, often must: of necessity or need; necessarily, indispensably.
Archaic
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "As touching corporal puniſhments and penance, as faſting, diſciplin, hare cloth and other chaſtiſements, it behoueth thee herein to vſe good diſcretiõ, taking ſuch as help to repreſſe the aſſaults and temptations of the fleſh, and leuing others that may be hurtful, not yeelding herein to the heats, which ſome nouices are vvont to haue in their beginning, who thorough indiſcrete mortifying, and dompting of their fleſhe, fal into ſome ſuche infirmitie, as aftervvardes they muſt needes pamper and cheriſhe it to much."
- "To haue no Schreene between this part he plaid, / And him he plaid it for, he needes will be / Abſolute Millaine,[…]"
- "For they both ſay and beleeue that this picture hath ſo great vertue, as alſo that of Padua, whereof I haue before ſpoken, that whenſoeuer it is carried abroad in a ſolemne proceſſion in the time of a great drougth, it will cauſe raine to deſcend from heauen either before it is brought backe into the Church, or very ſhortly after. […] I cannot be induced to attribute ſo much to the vertue of a picture, as the Venetians do, except I had ſeene ſome notable miracle wrought by the ſame. For it brought no drops at all with it: onely about two dayes after it rained (I muſt needes confeſſe) amaine. But I hope they are not ſo ſuperſtitious to aſcribe that to the vertue of the picture."
- "To begin therefore with Traditions, which is your forlorn hope that in the first place we are to set upon: this must I needs tell you before we begin, that you much mistake the matter, if you think that traditions of all sorts promiscuously are struck at by our religion."
- "Sole partner and ſole part of all theſe joyes, / Dearer thy ſelf then all; needs muſt the Power / That made us, and for us this ample World / Be infinitly good, […]"
- "―And the maſter of my hotel, ſaid I, as I concluded it, will needs have it, Monſieur le Count, that I ſhall be ſent to the Baſtile— […]"
Etymology
From Middle English nedes (“of necessity, necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably”) [and other forms], from Old English nēdes, nīedes (“of necessity; not willingly”), from nīed + -es (suffix forming adverbs from nouns). The English word is equivalent to need + -'s (possessive marker) and hence to need + -s (suffix forming adverbs).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nidz/
- British English: /niːdz/