much-needed

much-needed — adjective

1. used to describe something that people strongly feel should be present, often be

1.形容詞B2
釋義

used to describe something that people strongly feel should be present, often because it has been absent or insufficient for a long time — for example, a budget increase that a school has been requesting for years, or a rain shower after months without water.

例句

The charity provided much-needed food and blankets to the homeless shelter.

collocation: much-needed + concrete aid nouns (food, blankets)

After the long drought, the village finally received some much-needed rain.

collocation: much-needed + natural resource after scarcity

同義詞
  • welcome

    Emphasises pleasure at receiving something, but does not imply prior absence or insufficiency (a welcome gift vs. much-needed medicine).

  • essential

    Describes something absolutely necessary for a purpose; lacks the emotional nuance of relief that much-needed carries.

  • badly needed

    An open-form equivalent of much-needed, often used predicatively (the repairs are badly needed). Slightly more informal in tone.

反義詞
  • unwelcome

    Describes something received with displeasure rather than relief.

  • superfluous

    Describes something that is more than what is needed, opposite in both degree and desirability.

文法句型

much-needed + noun

用法筆記

Only used attributively (before a noun). When the same meaning appears after a linking verb (e.g. 'the rain is much needed'), write it as two separate words without a hyphen.

常見錯誤

❌The funding is much-needed.
✅The funding is much needed.
💡When used after a linking verb (is, was, seems), drop the hyphen and write as two separate words.
❌We had a much needed break.
✅We had a much-needed break.
💡When used directly before a noun, the hyphen between 'much' and 'needed' is required.