Dictionary necessityHardship

noun

necessity

A state of severe need or poverty.

The old account describes a family reduced to necessity.

Etymology

necessityLatinneed or compulsion

The Latin source names need or constraint. Applied to a person's circumstances, necessity can mean pressing material need and thus severe poverty.

More examples

They gave money to neighbors living in necessity.
The charity aided people in extreme necessity.
His letters reveal years of necessity and hardship.

Forms

necessity

Similar words

poverty: Poverty directly names lack of resources.
privation: Privation emphasizes deprivation of basic comforts.