Necessitous

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Necessitous \Ne*ces"si*tous\, a. [Cf. F. n['e]cessiteux.]
     1. Very needy or indigent; pressed with poverty.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Necessitous heirs and penurious parents.
                                                    --Arbuthnot.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Narrow; destitute; pinching; pinched; as, necessitous
        circumstances.
        [1913 Webster] -- {Ne*ces"si*tous*ly}, adv. --
        {Ne*ces"si*tous*ness}, n.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  necessitous
       adj : poor enough to need help from others [syn: {destitute}, {impoverished},
              {indigent}, {needy}, {poverty-stricken}]